Whispers of Death, Seeking Dawn
by EndlessLunacy
Summary: Note: This story is discontinued. I'm throwing it to the graveyard. Read at your own risk.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All DGM characters in this story belongs to Hoshino Katsura, creator of D. Gray-man.

 **Summary:** Year xxxx, technology has advanced to new heights. Slavery is legal and human experiments flourished, bringing about modified slaves. They are made to obey their Masters, robbed of control over their own lives. But there exists a hidden organisation who aids those slaves. However, when calamity befalls, can they persevere or will they fall together with the last traces of humanity?

* * *

 **Prologue**

Year xxxx.

Technology has advanced to new levels that were thought to be impossible a thousand years ago. The world was now filled with technology at every corner. Robots crawled through the streets in the forms of animals and humans alike. Humans have become so dependent on technology that removing them from the comfort of advanced technology would surely kill them.

Though there were still areas that had retained their historical forms, those areas were steadily being wiped out to make way for the future. Humans didn't like being stuck in the past anymore.

With advanced technology, humanity has become nothing more than a superficial appearance. Hundreds of experiments were created on their own kind, for the sake of gaining new technology. Many have died at the hands of scientists, but the world did not care because sacrifices were necessary for growth.

Besides, the current world was heavy overpopulated as it is. Killing off some humans for the greater good of science was seen as an honourable act.

One such experiment they did was the modification of humans.

Slavery has been legalised, and owning a high number of slaves shows off the wealth and prestige a person carries. But that was not enough for them. Slaves were good and all, but still, they were humans. They had the ability to think, to fight back.

It only caused endless troubles.

So the scientists began experimenting on removing a human's free will.

After countless years of trying, they finally succeeded. Slaves that were bought from the legalised shops all came with options for the Master to choose from. The Master has to decide if they wanted their newly bought slaves to be embedded with a microchip that would erase their ability to think.

Those who had a microchip placed into them are turned into beings just like robots. The only difference between an actual robot and a human-turn-robot was the human robot's smoother and more vivid displays of emotions.

Emotions were one thing that the scientists have often struggled with. They try and try, but they were never successful in completely capturing the intended emotions. Thus, human-turn-robots were highly sought after.

The years passed peacefully, though stagnant. But then, there came the need for change.

Humanity was a race that would quickly grow bored due to a lack of new exposure. So the scientists decided to try something new, something different. That is, creating humans that were half animals.

Mixing the genes of animals and humans together, modifying them to become compatible with each other.

Within ten years or so, their efforts borne fruit.

Humans with the characteristics of animals. From cat ears to tails of near extinct foxes, everything could be found. Still, there were many, many defects from this successful experiment.

Some humans are robbed of their voices, becoming mute. Some are blind, some are deaf. There were also those with extra pairs of animal ears. All those defects are either killed or sent far away to do work that no other human wanted to. For example, hard labour that the humans refused to waste their robots on.

Prices for advanced technology were sky-high, so when opportunities for free labour came, they made good use of it. It didn't matter if those defective slaves died in the process, because there were many more to take their place.

As for those perfected modified human-animal slaves, they waited to be bought, kept in a deep basement that held no windows. This was to prevent them from attempting an escape. With their genetics similar to that of animals, catching the runaways would be a pain.

It was not impossible, just that no one had the time to deal with that.

So the slaves were locked up in a place where there was barely any light, and nothing to show of the outside world. They may have heard of the outside world through stories, but stories were only stories. With no prove that it actually existed, why would they attempt something useless?

And so they waited, waited until the day came where their Masters would come and bring them out into the outside world.

* * *

Of course, in a world where technology was so advanced and slavery was legal, there were still bound to be illegal shops all around.

There were people who frequent those illegal shops with requests that were turned away from the legalised places. Such as creating a human-animal slave with two different types of breeds. Or even for crazy stunts such as mixing dangerous reptilian genes, like say, a snake.

Those illegal places thrived well, with many influential figures backing them up and helping them hide from the government. They would even aid in catching the needed animals for those experiments as well.

Sometimes, would-be Masters would kidnap people off the streets – be it male, female, or a child – that has gained their interest and send them over to be modified to their liking instead of having one created from scratch in a lab.

Missing people reports constantly flooded the government, but with corruption running rampant on the inside, it was impossible to find a lead on those missing people. Therefore, an unspoken rule was set in place.

Families of missing people had better give up the moment they realised someone close to them was kidnapped. Because even if they returned, they would never be the same. Death was the only merciful action left for them.

It was frustrating, it was painful.

But it couldn't be stopped.

And the place where these illegal shops thrived was called the Underworld.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

 **To Guest/Timcanpy(?) :** That seems interesting. I might work with something along those lines in the future.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Year 3090.

Froi Tiedoll, a tall man with a muscular build who has just reached his thirties. With fluffy grey, mid-length hair and a pair of – now rarely seen – glasses, he prides himself as an artist.

Even with the advancement in technology, talents are still treasured and cultivated. Froi Tiedoll has always been gifted with talent for art, and had pursued that path after graduating from school.

He travelled all over the world, drawing beautiful pictures of sceneries on actual paper. Everything was all computerised now, so things like paper were rarely seen. Those who took on the path of a painter are no different, they prefer drawing on a modernised tablet instead of dragging a brush or a pencil over a piece of paper.

But Tiedoll was an exception, choosing old tools that many have forgotten.

It was because of that that he became a sought-after man. Those who wanted something different from the technology all around them would seek out Tiedoll to have him draw for them. The prices of his paintings were steep, because of the diminishing materials that he required.

His customers were not bothered by that fact, they would willingly pay any price just to show off their 'differences' between their friends. Acquiring one of Tiedoll's works can greatly improve a person's prestige, after all.

Then again, most of his customers were the wealthy ones who carried their pride higher than the sky, so Tiedoll didn't mind charging those who failed to see the true beauty of the world at steep prices.

He did not like drawing for those type of people, but because he still needed to make money for his materials, he would do so every now and then.

With the amount of times he has rejected customers, his position as an artist has reached an exalted rank. Dubbed as the most unconquerable painter, the wealthy and even nobles from all over the world would seek him out to have him draw for them.

Humans; the more they couldn't achieve what they wanted, the more they stubbornly refused to give in.

Tiedoll lifted a hand, adjusting the hood of his cloak over his head. It was large enough to cast the upper half of his face in shadows. He stopped before a certain shop, gazing at the sign displayed.

Blood Haven.

An illegal shop in the Underworld that specialises in the best production of many types of forbidden modified humans.

He didn't want to come here, but a good friend of his convinced him to help him take a look.

Komui Lee, the Head of a secretive organisation that aims to help modified humans: the Black Order. Depending on the type of modified humans, they would do their best to remove the dangerous elements of the experiments carried out on them.

Many of the microchips within the slaves have a voice-activated function to self-destruct. Should their Master command them to 'self-destruct', there was no way for them to escape. Of course, not every slave can be saved. There were those who were too brain-dead to recover themselves, and also those who could no longer live normal lives.

The cruelty of humans knows no bounds, to the point where many slaves were carelessly thrown out while devoid of their limbs, turning them into nothing more than a useless body awaiting death.

Komui knew that it was not possible to save everyone, but what can be saved, he would do all he could to help them. Thus, he reached out to Tiedoll to help him. He wanted Tiedoll to scout for those that could be saved, even if it was just one.

And of course, getting information on the Underworld at the same time was a good thing. The existence of the Black Order irked many, but with how the Black Order was always exceptionally careful about erasing traces, nothing could be done about them.

That didn't mean that all Komui did was sit back and relax though, he was constantly preparing himself for a time when the Black Order may face an attack.

Tiedoll sighed at the shop before him.

The Blood Haven was the most frequented illegal shop in the Underworld, and many different types of modified humans were stocked here. With Tiedoll making use of his rank, the shop absolutely could not turn him away.

Tiedoll took a step forward and pressed his finger to the little screen floating beside the door that served as a doorbell. Barely a second later, the front door slid open soundlessly.

He entered the shop, his eyes taking in the surprisingly simple interior design.

"Welcome to Blood Haven. Are you looking for something?" A young girl with wavy blonde hair greeted him, dressed in a mini skirt and a short blouse with thigh high boots. She was smiling, though her eyes were clearly wary of him.

Tiedoll shifted, pulling back his hood to reveal his face.

The girl blinked, staring at him blankly.

And then all of a sudden, she slapped her hands to her mouth, muffling a little scream of excitement. Her eyes went wide, the artificial green colour flashing brightly.

"Oh my – "

Tiedoll placed a hand to his lips, silencing the girl.

Immediately, the girl nodded enthusiastically.

"How can I help you?" She asked, breathless.

"Are you the owner of this place?" Tiedoll softly inquired.

The girl shook her head. "I'm not the actual owner, I'm just temporarily filling in for the actual owner. Because this place can attract troublesome people."

Tiedoll smiled. "I see. I'm looking for a slave to buy. I was thinking that it was about time."

"Oh, of course! Right this way, I will lead you to the basement." The girl twirled around happily, and Tiedoll followed after her. Seems like the girl was rather careless with how easily she divulge such information. Still, Komui needed information so this carelessness was good.

Then again, it was obvious that the actual person running such a shady business would not stay at the frontlines. Tiedoll wondered if he should try getting whatever secrets he could out of the girl.

"Here, please go ahead. Watch your step, the platform is a little far away from the lift that will bring us down to the basement."

Tiedoll stepped onto the rectangular floating square, the girl quickly hopping on after him. There were soft beeps as she controlled the lift to sink.

It got darker as they descended, though it wasn't difficult to see.

They left the lift, approaching a door that opened after the girl entered a code and her fingerprint.

She was almost bouncing as she led Tiedoll further in, finally coming to a stop at the end. She pointed down below, and Tiedoll tilted his head down, gazing at the vast amount of modified humans moving about below.

He was on an observation deck, surrounded by ropes of electricity that served as a barrier. It was also high enough that he got a good view of the entirety of the basement.

"Here." The girl handed over a little screen that controlled the golems located around the basement. The golems were in the form of little spiders, some dangling from its web and others stuck onto the walls. Tiedoll could pick any golem to choose from, making them approach the slaves to get a closer look.

Tiedoll hummed, using his eyes to sweep across the entire floor first before using a golem.

All the while, the girl kept stealing peeks at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Do you have any exotic types?" Tiedoll asked.

"Absolutely! We even have specially created ones. See, over there. That one is a result of breeding a dog and a racoon! And this one here is a unique squid mix! It does not look the most appealing, but it has the ability to attack whomever you wish with poisonous ink. It's an easily disposable assassin.

"Ah, if you don't like ink, how about that one over there? The base is a snake, so it's a little scaly. But it has quite the lethal dose of poison and will make for a good bodyguard."

"Oh?" Tiedoll turned to face the girl. "It seems many have used those types to kill others, yes?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Because they are convenient. If they get caught, the owners can have them self-destruct to remove all evidence."

The girl frowned a little, thinking. "If I'm not wrong, the actual owner of this place has about ten human-snake slaves."

Tiedoll raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Of course, the owner has tons of other slaves, but among them, the human-snakes should be the most dangerous. I heard that the owner especially increased the potency of the poison they carry."

"I see." Tiedoll focused back on the screen in his hands, appearing nonchalant.

He moved the golem all around, searching for the most appropriate one that he could bring out and save. As he began to frown more, the girl started to panic. She was flustered, afraid that he would be displeased with her service.

She turned around, entering complex codes into the little screen floating beside her.

A lift appeared before them, sliding through the observation deck to where they were.

Tiedoll blinked at it, confused.

"Um," The girl started, looking nervous. "Actually, we have more. If you're not pleased with any that are here, I can bring you to the ones behind that door. Those behind that door are only reserved for special customers, but if it's you, then it shouldn't be a problem."

"Oh my, I'm grateful for your offer." Tiedoll readily accepted, to the girl's relief.

They travelled on the lift to another door that opened as they approached. They were lowered to the ground, and Tiedoll noticed that the modified slaves in here were not free to roam about. Every one of them was locked in a cage, the translucent blue rectangles all glowing with a soft light.

Tiedoll stepped closer to the slaves, but they didn't react to him much. Some glared half-heartedly, some stared at him emotionlessly. There were those who didn't even bother to look at him.

It was a completely different atmosphere from the basement before.

Tiedoll made his way throughout the entire room, taking his time to observe them. There were quite a few potential candidates to bring out, but he couldn't buy that many, since it would only rouse suspicions.

And besides, modified slaves are not cheap. Even more so for illegal ones. With how this group was separated from the rest, Tiedoll was sure that their cost would surely astound him. Well, Komui did give him quite a bit of money, and if it wasn't enough, he would use his own money that he was saving up – mostly for buying more painting materials.

Something shifted in the far corner, the cage placed in such a way that Tiedoll would have missed it if not for the sudden movement. He turned, walking quickly towards that cage. He came to a stop before the cage, staring down at the little thing contained within.

It was a child.

A child with a pair of rather large cat ears – with little tufts of black fur at the tips – resting on his head. He was dressed in an open shirt, revealing pale skin. He had on a pair of shorts that stopped at mid-thigh. His fingernails caught the faint light, gleaming ominously.

Could he have a transforming ability?

Though it was rare, but there were cases where a modified human displayed abilities to transform certain parts of themselves. They were usually discarded though, because it was deemed too dangerous.

Those eyes staring up at him were a beautiful dark blue, with narrowed pupils just like a cat's. His long, dark hair fell messily down his back, and Tiedoll noted that the fur covering his ears was same shade of blue as his eyes. The child's mouth was twisted down into a scowl.

Tiedoll turned to look over his shoulder, seeking out the girl.

At once, the girl rushed over.

"Yes?" She was beaming, cheeks flushed.

"What is he?" Tiedoll asked.

She peeked around Tiedoll, blinking at the child.

"Oh, him? He's a mix of some large breed cat that was supposedly extinct. I don't know who managed to find that cat and mix those genes with that child's though."

"Is he made from a request?"

"No. He was just an experiment. He was created from scratch in a lab, rather than an actual child. But he turned out to be a failed experiment."

"Because of those nails?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. His ability is a pain to deal with. There isn't an owner who wants to deal with a cat sharpening its claws over their furniture."

Tiedoll hummed. "How much cat genes does he carry? Can he understand human words?"

The girl scratched her cheek with a frown.

"Probably? He really isn't sociable and just keeps to himself all the time. I never heard him speak at all. But he does hiss a lot."

Tiedoll stared at the little child again. There was a sudden movement coming from beside the child, so fast that it had Tiedoll blinking his eyes. Did he imagine that? He tilted his head with a little frown.

There was a soft rustle of something sliding across the floor and then a rather long dark blue tail lashed out, twitching for a moment before it curled around the child's legs.

"That's a rather long tail for his size." Tiedoll commented.

"Yeah. It's one of the traits the extinct cat species has. Along with those ears."

"Are those cats naturally dark coloured?"

The girl cocked her head to one side as she thought.

"Hm. Yup! According to the records, all of them are dark. Mostly black and sometimes, there will be odd colouration among them. Those are regarded as ones with problematic genes though."

The child suddenly opened his mouth and bared his fangs at Tiedoll, growling.

Tiedoll blinked, and a soft chuckle left his lips. "What an interesting child. I will take him." He decided.

"Eh?" The girl gasped, surprised. "But he's a failed experiment!"

"That's alright, I can handle him."

"Well, if that's what you want." The girl easily agreed, bringing them all back to the shop's entrance. Of course, the child was still within his cage. The girl had pressed a button on the cage, making it turn dark, blocking off everything.

Because it would be troublesome if the slaves went wild immediately, they are usually shut into a black cage upon purchasing. This way, they are unable to see any of the outside world until the Master decided to remove the cage.

"Since that one is a faulty product, it isn't overly expensive." The girl said, tapping away at the flat, glowing keyboard with nimble fingers.

"That makes me quite glad, to be honest." Tiedoll smiled.

The girl giggled, twirling a lock of hair with one hand. "Because you need money to buy your painting materials?"

"Yes. Looks like you're well informed."

"You are famous, you know. Many people know that you are constantly saving up money for your materials."

"I see."

The girl flipped the screen in front of her, facing it towards Tiedoll so he could take a look.

"Are you alright with the price? I cut it down to as much as I could."

Tiedoll considered it, and then nodded. "Alright."

"Okay!" The girl happily keyed in all the information while Tiedoll brought up the little screen where he stored his money.

There was no need for physical wallets anymore. With how money was now specially crafted to become compatible with technology, it is enough to simply slide the money into the onscreen 'wallet' and all the money will be kept in there.

However, this increases the risk of being hacked through one's personal 'Enpex'. An Enpex is little device, no larger than a little finger, used for controlling almost all the technology for daily functions. From handling money to web surfing, it is a device that has become so integrated with everyday life that it was now impossible to live easily without it.

An Enpex device is activated through blood and face recognition, and is a personalised device that is always on one's person. It can range from a simple (but small) card to a keychain hanging off their belts.

Tiedoll's Enpex has been specially modified by Komui, removing all aspects that allowed the government to spy on one's activities. Of course, he added tons of security to prevent hacks of any kind at the same time. It was no surprise for the government to track your every move, and rewriting that complex program is near impossible for most, so they could only live with it.

But the Underworld and the Black Order were both capable enough to not just rewrite it, but could completely erase that program, thus why the Underworld was able to thrive and that the Black Order continues to remain hidden.

Tiedoll handed over the agreed amount to the girl, who held on to the money like she just received the biggest treasure in her life.

"I'm transferring the receipts and slave's contract over now, please read through them. I've included a manual as well!" The girl cheerfully reported.

"Thank you."

The girl blushed.

"Ah, yes." Tiedoll suddenly spoke up.

"Hm?"

"This child, does he have a name?"

"You are to name him whatever you wish."

"Oh no. I meant a name that he was called by previously."

"Oh. Hold on, let me check."

Half a dozen screen popups appeared around her, and she scrolled through all the information at rapid speed. A moment later, her delighted voice echoed in the shop.

"Ah! I found it!"

"Oh?" Tiedoll smiled.

"That child's name is Yuu!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

In all honesty, I only wrote this because I wanted a cat!Kanda. I have no idea where this story will go in the future, but I'm excited to find out. Heh. :D


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

 **To Timcanpy:** We'll see. I will take your suggestion into consideration, but I'm not making any promises.

Please enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

Tiedoll stopped before a stall selling warm soup, operated by a humanoid robot. He bought a couple, as well as some boiled tofu. He didn't know what the child liked to eat, didn't know how long he had went without food. Hopefully, these wouldn't cause the child an upset stomach.

Food acquired, he turned into an empty alley, placing the black cage in front of him. He made sure to block off the only exit, just in case the child decided to run. Tiedoll reached out, keying in the needed code to remove the cage.

The cage opened up with a soft hiss, revealing the child curled up in the corner. The moment Tiedoll came into view, the child snarled viciously.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Tiedoll said, but the child still did not relax.

Tiedoll set the food down in front of the child. "We have many things to do, but for now, how about some food?"

The child's eyes strayed to the food suspiciously, not moving an inch.

"It's just some soup and tofu. It's better to eat something light for now." Tiedoll smiled reassuringly.

There was still no movement from the child.

Tiedoll frowned, thinking. "Let's see… What was your name again? Ah, that's right. Yuu."

There was the slightest of a flinch when Tiedoll said the child's name. He wondered what that name meant to the child. Did he like it? Or did he hate it?

It didn't matter for now, because it was the only thing that caused a different kind of reaction from the boy.

"Yuu, why don't you eat something first? There's nothing dangerous in there, I can promise you that."

The child's ears flattened against his head, hissing at Tiedoll. Tiedoll wasn't deterred, pushing the food closer. It took about a minute before the child reached out a hand to quickly grab the food, immediately retreating into a corner after that.

Tiedoll watched the child eat, barely chewing through the tofu before swallowing. Well, it was boiled tofu after all. It broke apart with little force, and was easy to swallow. The child polished off everything, licking his lips when he was done.

Tiedoll chuckled.

He would get the child a full meal later on, but this will have to do for now.

"Now then." He spoke up, causing the child's ears to twitch. The child raised his eyes, sending a glare towards Tiedoll. Compared to the look before, it was just a little softer. It didn't mean that the child trusted him though.

"Yuu, if you willingly follow after me quietly, I can get you a better meal and place to stay in." Tiedoll started, carefully choosing his words. He was currently in the Underworld, where there were surely eyes and ears all around.

The child responded with a hiss.

"I'll be honest with you. If you attempt to escape right away, it will only end up with you running into trouble. I'm sure you don't want that."

It was then that the child suddenly blinked and his head whipped from side to side, taking in the scenery. There wasn't much to see since they were in a little alley with Tiedoll blocking the exit. But the child's reaction was still strange.

He didn't display shocked nor fearful expressions, even after raising his head to look at the sky. He only looked a little surprised. Tiedoll hummed, smoothing his fingers over his beard. Perhaps this boy had actually attempted an escape before? His reactions were completely different from Tiedoll's expectations.

The child's gaze settled on him, scanning him from top to bottom.

And then he nodded once.

Tiedoll's eyes widened in surprise. He wondered if the boy was going to attempt to run once Tiedoll had lowered his guard. He hasn't been with the child long, but he could already tell that the child was not the type to easily go along with other people's wishes.

Oh well.

He would just have to remain vigilant while bringing the boy over to Komui.

Tiedoll stood up, pulling up the contract settings for the slave he bought. He quickly rejected the offer of the self-destruction function, gesturing for the child to move away from the cage. Once the child was out of range, Tiedoll threw in all the food containers into the cage and then ordered the cage to destroy itself.

A soundless explosion shook the ground as the cage burnt down in seconds. There was barely any mess left behind, and the cleaning robots along the streets would take care of the remaining ashes.

Once done with that, he waved the child over to him.

The boy did walk over, though he kept quite a distance between them.

"Follow me now. My car is parked not too far away from here." Tiedoll instructed, turning around. The boy did as Tiedoll said without a fuss. They walked for a time, coming to a stop before a white, oval vehicle that was floating serenely.

Cars have changed drastically from the past thousand years, now taking on the shape of transportation vehicles that were only heard of in fictional stories about aliens in the past. Tiedoll's car was a little different from the other models out there; it was especially crafted by Komui.

Komui had said that it was a gift to thank Tiedoll for all the help he had given.

A line of pure black – the window – ran along three quarters of the car's white body. It lacked wheels, replaced with retractable wing-like structure. After all, cars no longer travelled on roads. They fly in the air, allowing for easier navigation and less overcrowding. Though Tiedoll's car looked small from the outside, but the inside was actually quite spacious. With a tap, Tiedoll opened up the door and stepped in.

Without needing to be told, the boy climbed in as well. His eyes widened as he looked around, causing Tiedoll to chuckle lightly. As the door slid shut, multiple screens appeared before Tiedoll. He typed in the destination he wanted, and then relaxed back into his seat as the car took off.

The boy had stuck himself to the window, looking out at the world as it flashed by. From the outside, the window was black and opaque, making it impossible to look into the car. But on the inside, the window had 'disappeared', leaving only a huge illusion that there was nothing in front of them, save for the sky.

The boy was clearly enraptured, wide eyes looking down at the scenery as they flew past at high speeds.

Tiedoll observed the boy, smiling at the way his tail rose high in the air, telling of happiness that the boy's face didn't show. His gaze stopped on the cat ears.

Modified human-animal slaves usually had two pairs of ears. A pair of normal human ones and another on their heads, taking the form of whatever animals they were mixed with. The result of that caused their humans ears to become useless. In other words, the human ears were only there so that the slaves would appear more appealing. The actual ears that they used to hear with were the animal ears.

Tiedoll was rather curious about the child's hearing ability.

By using the animal genes, it seems like certain traits were passed on. So the hearing of the boy must surely be equal to that of a real cat.

The boy's tail twitched, feeling Tiedoll's gaze on him. He turned his face a little to the side, glaring back at Tiedoll with one eye. His tail lashed to the side, ears flicking in annoyance as he turned away first, displeased by Tiedoll's shameless staring.

Tiedoll did not avert his eyes, continuing to observe the child. He spoke up after a while, "I'm currently bringing you to a place where you can be free."

The boy tensed, but did not make to face Tiedoll.

Tiedoll continued, "It's not a lie. I have a friend who runs an organisation to help modified humans. There are many modified humans living there freely. Quite a lot of them used to be slaves. The people there can be rather eccentric, but they're good people. There's a cafeteria too, where you can go to eat whenever you get hungry. You don't have to live by anyone's rule there."

There wasn't any reply from the child, but Tiedoll could see his side profile. He was frowning. Tiedoll understood that it was difficult to believe in mere words that told of freedom. But he didn't force the boy, because he wanted to show him through actions instead.

When they reach the Black Order, the boy can see for himself the environment he is to live in.

"Ah!" Tiedoll suddenly exclaimed, startling the boy. "Your name. We should get you another name, because in the place I'm bringing you to, you would require a surname. Besides, from now on, you are no longer a slave who goes by only one name."

Tiedoll hummed, thinking. The boy blinked at him, his tail twitching and curling around himself.

"Let' see… You were created, weren't you? Not modified by using an existing human, but created and grown in a lab. Hm… In that case, how about 'Kanda'? Written with the characters for 'God' and 'field', wouldn't it be rather fitting?"

Tiedoll paused, taking in the child's reaction.

The child had turned his head away, his face expressionless. But his tail spoke of a different emotion. It rose high into the air behind him, even waving a little.

Tiedoll smiled. Looks like the child was in fact quite satisfied with that name.

"Oh, taking about names…" Tiedoll murmured. "It seems that I have yet to introduce myself, haven't I?"

The child – Kanda – glanced over at Tiedoll.

"I'm Froi Tiedoll, a travelling artist. And I've finally reached my thirties." Tiedoll laughed.

Kanda's ears were perked, listening attentively to Tiedoll even though his face showed a displeased frown.

"Why don't you get some rest for now? It's still going to take a while before we arrive." Tiedoll suggested.

Kanda gave him a barely there nod as he shifted, curling up in a corner of the car.

Seeing that, Tiedoll decided not to say anything else and instead, chose to scroll through the information he obtained about the child.

The child was supposedly made to look like an Asian, specifically one from Japan. Since he was created from scratch, it was safe to say that his human genes were randomly picked from the thousands of stored DNA in the laboratories.

Though the silence in the car was just a little heavy, the atmosphere was peaceful enough.

After a while, a soft beep rang out, notifying Tiedoll that they were about to reach their destination.

"Oh, we're here." Tiedoll said, closing the information portal. His voice caused Kanda jumped up, harshly awakening him out of his light doze. Kanda quickly moved to stare out of the car.

A little island was floating in the sky, where a really tall circular building was built on. Entrance into the building was protected by a massive gate, and there were tons of golems flying around, looking like little bats. Green bars of laser abruptly appeared all around the island in reaction to Tiedoll's approach.

But he was let through without a problem, the car driving straight into the lasers as though they were never there. The car swerved, coming to a stop before the large gates. The door slid open, and Tiedoll climbed out. Kanda followed after him.

Tiedoll walked up to the communication pad on the gate, pressing his palm into it. White light scanned him from head to toe, and then a little chime of a bell rang out. The gate opened inwards, allowing them in.

They walked in on foot, Tiedoll's car following behind him until it was safely inside, then it flew off to park itself in Tiedoll's reserved spot.

The gates slammed shut behind them so heavily that even the ground trembled a little.

Kanda was staring all around him with wide eyes, and Tiedoll had to call him twice to get his attention.

Kanda stuck surprisingly close to him, body tensed and wary eyes quickly looking left and right.

Tiedoll led him in to the building, amused at how Kanda's eyes roamed everywhere at once, trying to quickly familiarise himself with the new environment.

There was a large doorway on the inside, spanning from one end of the wall to the other. The empty space was actually crackling with energy, the sight making Kanda hiss as he felt threatened. But the only way to enter the Black Order was to pass through that doorway.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt you, since I've authorized your entry." Tiedoll told Kanda, who clearly didn't trust him.

Tiedoll walked past Kanda, stepping into the doorway without fear. Little lights of energy collected around him, scanning him in mere milliseconds. Tiedoll entered the other side safely without even having to pause. He gestured for Kanda to do the same.

Kanda stood by the doorway for about a minute, gathering up his courage. With determined eyes, he finally moved to enter the doorway, almost running. He blinked when he found himself on the other side, without a scratch.

Tiedoll had already started walking, and Kanda ran to catch up with him. They were walking in a tunnel-like walkway, where only blinding light could be seen at the end.

The silence between them was broken by the sound of their footsteps, and when they were just about to step out of the tunnel, Tiedoll suddenly turned around to face Kanda.

"Kanda Yuu."

Kanda glanced up at him.

Tiedoll smiled.

"Welcome to the Black Order."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

 **To jy24:** Allen's introduction will have to wait. I need to build up Kanda first, as well as the Black Order, which will take quite a few more chapters.

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

* * *

"I see you picked something rather interesting." Komui commented.

Komui Lee, Head of the Black Order. Just like Tiedoll, he had on a pair of glasses, though in a different design. He was dressed in mostly white, together with a beret that kept his chin-length dark hair in place. A lock of hair slipped free, partially covering an eye.

He was at least a head taller than Tiedoll was, and Tiedoll was by no means a small man. But it was a pity Komui didn't put his ridiculous height to good use – like say, for intimidation purposes – unlike some other members of the Black Order.

Tiedoll had brought them straight to Komui's office, and settled himself down onto a couch with a little sigh. Kanda had sat down warily, never taking his eyes off the man sitting behind an overcrowded desk. It looked as though the piles of artificial papers would fall over with just a light tap.

"Why, yes. And besides, isn't he cute?" Tiedoll grinned. He got a hiss in return for his words though. Kanda's tail puffed up, completely against that statement.

Komui chuckled. "Have you given him a name?"

Tiedoll nodded. "Kanda Yuu."

"Oh?" Komui hummed, staring at Kanda. Kanda sent him a glare in return. Komui wasn't affected though, coolly observing the boy before turning around and calling over something from behind him.

An old-fashioned robot came floating over, looking exactly like a UFO.

"Why don't you go get something to eat first?" Komui suggested, glancing at Kanda. "If you follow the robot here, it will bring you to the cafeteria. We have a really skilled cook, you can order whatever you want and I guarantee that our chef can make it."

Kanda stared at the robot, frowning.

Neither Komui nor Tiedoll said anything else, merely waiting for Kanda to make a decision.

Kanda hopped off the couch and approached the robot. The robot beeped, registering Kanda's features.

"Bring him to the cafeteria, please." Komui said.

"Understood." Came the response from the little robot.

Kanda left Komui's office without looking back. The door slammed shut, and then Tiedoll spoke up a moment later.

"Leaving him alone like that, there's a high chance he would run away, you know."

Komui smiled mischievously. "It doesn't matter. That robot has already registered him into its system, so if he tries to run, it will catch him."

"How devious."

"Shouldn't I say that about you instead? Why did you choose that child out of the rest?"

Tiedoll hummed, pulling out the slave contract. A screen appeared before him, filled with pages and pages of words.

"He was the only one who wasn't 'dead' in that place. All the other modified slaves had eyes that have given up, only desiring to be bought and raised. It was only through luck that I found him. He was placed in a far corner, and I almost missed him."

Komui smiled sadly. "I see. It's true that many slaves have already given up on themselves, and while we can still help them, they no longer have the capabilities to become independent."

He sighed, then asked, "How old is the boy?"

Tiedoll lifted a finger, flipping through the details on the screen in front of him. "Hm, seems like his birthday is coming up really soon. He's currently nine, so just a few more weeks and he will turn ten."

"Oh? How nice." Komui clapped his hands together. "Perhaps we should throw him a birthday party."

Tiedoll chuckled. "You can try, but he really isn't the type to cooperate well. Up till now, I've not heard even one word from his mouth."

Komui blinked.

"He can't speak?"

"I don't think it's that. He probably just chooses not to. There's nothing in the contract that states that he has speech disabilities."

"I see. A difficult child huh."

"Indeed. Ah, yes." Tiedoll tapped on the contract as he asked, "Would you like me to send this over? It should help since you will be taking care of him, right?"

"I'm grateful. But just a copy will do. It's better if you have the original contract on you, as a precaution."

"Alright."

* * *

Tiedoll spent quite some time talking to Komui.

He made sure to report everything he heard from the girl to Komui, and about the amount of 'bodyguards' the actual owner had as well.

They were interrupted when a light knocking came from the other side of the door. With a wave of Komui's hand, the door slid open to reveal a disgruntled Kanda who sported countless scratches all over his body.

Two slim metal ropes extending from the robot were wrapped around Kanda's underarms, lifting him into the air. He seemed out of breath, not bothering to protest against the robot carrying him. The robot above him beeped, and then he was moved into the room. The door softly shut by itself as they entered.

Both Tiedoll and Komui blinked blankly.

And then Tiedoll laughed. "So he really did make a run for it."

Komui tilted his chin up with a smug grin. "See, I told you everything would be fine!"

A loud, vicious growl rang out in the room, and they glanced at the clearly furious Kanda. He had pulled his lips back, revealing sharp canine teeth as he growled. The robot lowered him down to the floor, but still had not release him yet. It probably wouldn't until Komui gave the command.

Tiedoll stood up, approaching Kanda. He was hissed at in warning, but Tiedoll didn't stop until he stood directly before Kanda.

With a little smile, he reached out and lightly ruffled Kanda's hair, right between his ears.

Kanda flinched, startled. It may be due to the sudden, unexpected action but Kanda didn't push his hand away.

"It's about time I left. There are still many beautiful places out there that I have yet to visit. Stay here and grow up well, Yuu-kun." Tiedoll softly said.

He turned around, glancing at Komui. He gave him a little nod, walking around Kanda and leaving the room.

Kanda stared after him, watching until he couldn't anymore as the door slid shut.

"Now then, shall we go get your wounds treated?" Komui stood up, making his way towards Kanda.

Kanda whipped around, glaring hard at Komui.

Komui led the way to the infirmary within the Black Order, not once releasing Kanda from the robot.

After a (terrifying) meeting with the Head Nurse, Kanda was thrown into the baths.

He was washed from head to toe, somehow too afraid of the Head Nurse to protest. She was careful when washing his ears, and gentle fingers combed through his messy hair to clean it.

Once he was deemed as clean, he was then subjected to a bunch of health tests. His hearing, his heart rate, even his transformation ability were all checked. Once they were all done, Kanda finally received treatment for his scratches.

Komui happily skipped to the bed Kanda was seated on.

"Have you eaten?" Komui asked Kanda. Kanda growled back as a means of response. Komui didn't falter at all, and added on, "Did you immediately make a run for it as soon as you were alone? If you did, that must mean you still have yet to get a proper meal, right?"

Komui hummed. "Tiedoll did say he bought you some light food, mostly soup. That's not enough for a growing child. You won't get stronger like this, you know."

Kanda's ears flattened against his head, tail curling around him as he bared his fangs at Komui.

"Ah, what a difficult child indeed." Komui sighed.

"Komui, can I have a word with you?" The Head Nurse poke her head around a curtain, little screens of digitised documents all floating around her.

"Ah, sure!"

Komui turned around, with a slide of his hand, the curtain was pulled around Kanda's bed. The curtain had been installed with a special material that blocked off sound. Even so, the Head Nurse led him into another room as a precaution against Kanda's sensitive cat hearing.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with the boy?" Komui asked, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Not quite." The Head Nurse replied. "He's malnourished, but that can be fixed with regular food intake. In fact, his body is surprisingly healthy for one so malnourished."

"What do you mean?"

"His muscles are in tip-top shape, exactly the same as a normal person with constant food intake and exercise. The fact that he has not collapsed into a weak mess is truly astounding, and I think the reason for that is this."

The Head Nurse flipped a floating screen around which contained pictures of Kanda's body.

He was really too skinny, but what caught Komui's attention was the tattoo on his chest.

"…This is…" Komui gasped.

"Yes. About fifty years ago, when the world was hung up on the possibility of a regenerative body, countless experiments took place. More often than not, the failures caused all experimental subjects to die. Those that succeeded all fell into insanity after a couple of months. They had to be killed.

"All in all, the experiments cost too much to keep going. And since the failure rate was so high – no, it is more accurate to say that there have never been a truly successful one, the experiment was abolished. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this symbol on that child's chest." The Head Nurse sighed, carefully observing Komui's astonished face. It wouldn't be good if he collapsed now.

"Then… That child will be eventually turn insane too?" Komui asked.

The Head Nurse solemnly shook her head. "After I saw that seal, I did all kinds of tests to get a read on it. Unlike the ones documented, that boy did not have the same errors. The stability, the power balance, they were all perfect! That's boy's current condition is prove of that."

"…So, so you're saying that the boy is actually the first ever successful experiment?"

"As of now, yes. We do not know where exactly the boy came from. We do not know which laboratory or _who_ was the one to produce this. There may be more, but there's also the possibility that he is the only one."

Komui lowered his head, a frown on his face as he thought deeply.

With a resolute nod, he raised his eyes. "Head Nurse, I will send a copy of that child's contract over to you. Please read through it and see if you can pick up on anything about his past from those walls of texts."

"Yes, of course, Komui."

Komui pulled up his inventory, sending over the contract file.

"Right now, it's best to get him some food. And if you can, you must do everything in your power to stop that child from escaping this place. It's too dangerous for him out there. If someone happens to recognise that seal on his chest, the child will be subjected to the worse experiments to have ever existed." The Head Nurse cautioned.

Komui nodded.

"I understand."

Komui returned back to the bed where Kanda was. He was a little surprised to see Kanda sitting still so obediently. A soft beep coming from the side had Komui turning his head, blinking at the UFO robot floating near Kanda's bed on guard duty.

Ah. Maybe Kanda knew that running away was not possible as long as that robot will still assigned to him.

As Komui approached, Kanda lifted his head and glared. Those cat eyes of his locked on to Komui, like a predator waiting for the right time to strike. It left Komui leaving a little uneasy, but he was used to being threatened.

"Shall we go get you some food?" Komui suggested.

Kanda slid off the bed, his tail lashing from side to side as he waited for Komui to lead the way. He stared up defiantly at Komui.

Komui only smiled softly at him.

"Even though it may take some time, but I hope that there will be a day where you can consider the Black Order as your home, Kanda Yuu."


	5. Chapter 4

x

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

Komui sighed, resting his head against his palm as he listlessly gazed out the window.

There was still a bunch of work to be done, but he couldn't concentrate. According to the golem's feed, the source of his headache was _still_ at it.

And by that, he meant Kanda.

The first few days after Kanda first came, the amount of times he tried to escape was staggering. Komui never had to deal with such a troublesome child before. Those that came eventually settled down after about three to four days.

But Kanda was different. He refused to acknowledge help from others, refused to get close. Over and over again, he tried all means to escape from the Black Order. There was one time he even attempted to jump off the fourth floor window. But his attempt was thwarted by the robot Komui assigned to Kanda.

Cat or not, jumping off from the fourth floor would still be really bad.

It took almost an entire month before there was any change.

Albeit reluctantly, Kanda had finally, finally settled down somewhat. Instead, he had taken to sitting right by the entrance for days on end. Whenever someone approached him, he would hiss and then run away.

Komui's plan to introduce him to the other Black Order members was left hanging.

With how he was now, meeting the rest wouldn't do any good. It might even cause him to be more on guard.

What baffled Komui was Kanda's strange obsession with sitting by the entrance. It was as though he was waiting for someone. But Kanda didn't know anyone from the Order, well, except for one.

Froi Tiedoll.

Was Kanda waiting for Tiedoll? Why would he, when he clearly dislikes people?

"Don't tell me this is 'imprinting'?" Komui cried out plaintively, pressing his face into his hands.

"Tiedoll, you… Just what did you do to that kid?" Komui grumbled, muttering complains under his breath.

He wasn't serious about them though. Kanda wasn't a bird with an imprinting ability, and his contract stated nothing about that as well. If Kanda really did have one, the Master would surely be severely cautioned in the contract.

Maybe he should have a talk with Kanda? Though it would probably just be him doing the talking.

"Ah, whatever. UFO robot, please bring Kanda here." Komui ordered.

"Understood."

* * *

Komui stared at the glaring Kanda.

He was really getting used to Kanda's bloodthirsty glares.

"Kanda, just what are you doing by the entrance every day?" Komui asked rhetorically, since Kanda wasn't going to answer anyway. "Are you perhaps waiting for Tiedoll?"

Kanda did not move an inch nor show any reaction, except for his twitching tail tip.

Komui sighed.

"You know, Tiedoll's association with the Black Order is confidential. With his profession, to be allied with the Black Order could bring forth unneeded trouble. There are people out there who dislike what we do, after all."

Kanda's ears twitched, perking up. He didn't show it, but he was closely listening to Komui's words.

"Their thoughts differ from ours. To them, modified humans are only things to make use of. It doesn't matter if they bleed red blood just like others, or that they were once human. They believe that the slaves exist to serve under them, that they should be grateful to their Masters, no matter the mistreatment and abuse they receive.

"Then again, they are not entirely wrong. The process of modification started from the humans' desire to gain control over another being. But from the very beginning, they went about it the wrong way. Thus, it has led to this day where modified humans have no freedom, to the point where even control over their lives are removed.

"You have heard about it, I assume? The microchip used to erase free will."

Kanda tensed, and a bitter smile made its way onto Komui's face.

"We want to help, that's why for all the modified slaves within the Black Order, there is one thing we prioritize. The self-destruction function that your implanted microchips carry, we will absolutely remove it. That way, there will be no need for endless worry about whether your Master will activate it."

Komui chuckled then, a short little laugh.

"You don't have to worry though. Tiedoll will never do anything like that to you. You were lucky to get picked up by him, you know."

Kanda's tail flicked as he turned his face away from Komui with a huff.

Komui fell silent, smile dropping. He appeared to be hesitating, but then his eyes took in a serious light and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Kanda, I'm going to tell you something that only those who have lived here for a long time know. I hope that you will not betray my trust."

Kanda frowned at Komui, ears twitching.

Komui sighed softly, preparing himself. With a deep breath, he began, "In the Black Order, we also have a microchip system. But – Hey! Woah! Hold on, Kanda! Listen to the end, will you? Don't be so eager to attack."

Komui hid behind his desk, leaving it to the UFO robot to hold back the Kanda that had lunged at him. He had even transformed his fingernails into deadly sharp claws.

At any rate, Komui could confirm that Kanda had no problems with understanding human speech.

With Kanda snarling at him while being held back by the metal ropes of the robot, Komui hastened to explain.

"The microchip within you right now cannot be removed. Like all other modified humans, your microchips are all permanently connected to your brain. Removing it is the same as destroying your minds, in other words, it means killing all of you.

"Therefore, we came up with a way to counter that. The microchip system we use have a different function. By implanting our specially created microchip into you, it will cancel out the current one you have, rendering it useless."

Komui paused, gauging Kanda's reaction. He was a little calmer now, so Komui continued on.

"After that, we will use a unique illusion technology to 'hide' your animal characteristics. You will appear completely human, making it safe for you to walk around even without a Master by your side. But to do that, you will have to carry a 'Trigger' at all times. You can pick whatever 'Trigger' you want, be it a simple accessory or even a weapon.

"Do you understand, Kanda? This is how we grant modified slaves 'freedom'. We cannot permanently remove your animal characteristics, because it is already a part of your genes. If we forcefully try to, it will surely result in dire consequences.

"It's even more so for you, who was entirely created into existence. Using technology to hide the animal characteristics is the best we can do. But with this method, you guys will at least be free to travel around, without being bound to anyone."

Komui slowly rose up from behind his desk, taking in Kanda's flabbergasted expression. It was a rare sight that Komui took great delight in. Really, even though Kanda was barely half his size, Komui still felt intimidated.

A child, Komui was afraid of a child.

A little corner of Komui's mind screamed at him in horrified shock, but he pushed it away. Right now, there were more important things that required his attention.

He quietly watched as Kanda sank to the floor in a daze.

The robot slowly released the ropes binding him, retreating back.

Komui crouched down in front of Kanda, serious eyes resting on Kanda's slumped form.

"If you would like, we can do that for you. However, there is a criteria."

Kanda raised his head, curious eyes blinking at Komui.

"You have to get stronger, Kanda Yuu. As you know, there are people out there who only wish to do harm onto others. If you want to be free, you must first have the capabilities to protect yourself. To become independent, you must become strong."

Komui stared into Kanda's eyes, waiting silently.

And there it was.

The previously clouded eyes disappeared, replaced with the fiery light of determination.

Komui smiled.

"Train yourself and grow stronger. And when you have finally gained strength in both mind and body, come to me and I will help you."


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

 **To Bw:** Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

 **To Blackheads:** Allen won't be introduced for quite a while yet. I still have many other things to build up first before I can bring Allen into the story. And I can't promise fast updates, but at the very least, there will be one chapter per week. I have other stories that I'm working on right now, so a one week time frame allows me to juggle them all without getting stressed out. Also, I prefer quality over quantity, even if it means slow updates. But your enthusiasm for this story makes me really happy, so thank you~ (:

 **To clip:** Unfortunately, the scenario you gave won't fit with the flow that I'm going for. Still, certain parts of it seemed interesting, and I had to clamp down on the forming ideas before I end up starting yet another story. That would have been bad since I've got quite a bit on my plate right now. Haha.

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

Komui slumped over his desk, watching the golem's projection with a large beaming smile on his face.

Kanda was in the training room, undergoing intense training in martial arts. It's been a few days since their talk, and Kanda had started learning how to fight. Within the Black Order, there were a few people who were skilled in martial arts, they were mostly there to help the modified humans.

Komui had recruited quite a few trustworthy trainers to help out, because of the criteria he had set for granting freedom to the modified slaves. It wasn't too difficult to get those trainers, but they were not entitled to the secrets of the Black Order. Only the scientists and those involved knew about them.

All the scientists were all carefully picked and screened, to ensure that the secrets of the Black Order are not leaked.

But Kanda's determination to grow stronger blew Komui's expectations out of the water. The training he imposed on himself was something that even trained professionals could only gape at. He listened surprisingly well to the instructors. Time for a break, time to eat, and when he was ordered to rest his injured muscles, all these, Kanda abide by well.

He was determined to get stronger, but he wasn't stupid to only charge on without rest. That would only do more harm than good, and Kanda knew that.

What worried Komui was how Kanda would change.

He listens well now because he was still weak. But when the day comes where Kanda can win against his instructors, would he still obediently rest when told to? Or will he end up training until his body gave up on him?

Komui sighed, his smile fading.

What to do?

Should he just wait and see what the future holds?

A soft knock came from behind the door, and Komui quickly straightened up. The door slid open without his command, and in the doorway stood a little girl. Her hair was tied up into twin pigtails, large eyes fixed on Komui. She wore a simple, form-fitting dress, with thigh-high stockings. Her outfit was completed with a pair of low heels.

Komui stared at her for a second, and then scrambled out of his desk to rush towards the little girl, screaming, "Lenalee!"

The little girl was embraced in a tight hug as a smile bloomed on her face.

"Welcome home, Lenalee." Komui whispered.

"I'm home, Brother." The girl returned.

Komui released her from the hug, smiling down at her fondly. "How is it? Any problems?" He asked.

Lenalee shook her head. "It's perfectly fine."

"I'm glad."

Lenalee entered further into the room, causing the door to close. She sat on the armrest of a couch, slipping off her shoes. A pair of ears and a tail appeared, in the form of a rabbit. They were covered in soft, fluffy fur that gave one the urge to touch.

Komui's little sister, Lenalee Lee.

She was kidnapped off the streets and turned into a modified human. It took Komui a long time before he found her, and by then, she had already been fully merged with the genes of a rabbit.

The result of the modification gave her enhanced physical abilities. She became naturally quick and agile, and has the ability to jump large distances in a single leap. This applied for both vertical and horizontal distances.

It was useful, Lenalee had said.

But Komui couldn't even begin to imagine the pain and agony she must have gone through in order to survive. He often felt guilty for being unable to protect his little sister, for his carelessness that caused her unimaginable suffering. Lenalee knew all that, so she often smiled around him, trying to ease his feelings.

" _Brother, it's okay. I'm okay. You're here for me, Brother. So I'm fine."_

Back then, Lenalee would say this over and over again, hugging him while murmuring those words into his ears. She displayed a maturity beyond her age, enough for Komui to question who the older one between them really was.

He was left astounded, but at the same time, he felt an indescribable sadness.

Her body may be that of a child, but her mind had been forced to grow up much too fast compared to the way a child her age should have.

A gentle warmth on his hand pulled Komui out of his recollections. He blinked, staring down at his hand. Lenalee had placed her small hand over his.

She smiled softly, eyes questioning.

"Oh." Komui returned her smile with one of his own. "It's nothing, sorry for spacing out."

Lenalee tilted her head, but accepted his answer without question.

"Ah… right, I almost forgot. Lenalee."

"Yes, Brother?"

"We welcomed a new member while you were out." Komui smiled.

Lenalee brightened in an instant, her excitement clear in her eyes. "Who? Who is it, Brother? Is it a boy? A girl?"

Komui stroke her hair gently as he softly laughed.

"A boy. He is older than you, Lenalee. He's nine, but in a couple of days, he will be ten."

Lenalee clapped her hands together in joy.

"So he's two years older than me? I wonder how he looks like!"

"About that… Lenalee…"

"What is it, Brother?"

"You see, that boy is not the most sociable child. From the moment Tiedoll brought him here until now, I have never heard him speak. It's not that he can't, it seems that he simply does not want to. But he's training well right now."

"Oh. Is that so?" Lenalee frowned for a moment, but then regained her smile. "That's alright! Maybe if I try talking to him, he will respond! I'm the same as him after all!"

Lenalee hopped off the couch and ran out before Komui could even get a word in. He was left staring after her in a daze. Once his sister started running, there was no way he could catch up to her.

He sighed, reaching down to pick up her abandoned shoes.

She said they were fine, but he suppose he could fine-tune them even more.

Turning around, he left his office and headed for the science department.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

…Honestly, I feel like a broken record. Have patience, dear readers. You see, the story (plot) will only truly start once Allen is introduced, but it is not yet time for that. Just bear with me for a little while more, roughly four more chapters or so. That aside, thank you for all your supportive comments and love~

 **To Tsukiko K:** I have yet to decide on the pairings, there may be some but there may also be none.

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

Lenalee ran along the hallways, barefoot.

The smooth materials of her high stockings made it easy to slip, but she was used to it. She knew how to control her strides without falling face-first to the ground. Her brother would only worry even more about her if she fell and got scratched up.

She made her way towards the training rooms, listening out for the one that was currently occupied.

She stopped before a room, eyes wide and heart thumping with nervousness. She pressed her palm to the floating screen next to the door, and the door silently opened for her.

Carefully stepping in, she glanced around.

Right in the middle of the training room, a man and a young child were sparring together. Or more like the young child was getting thrown about like a ragdoll. She paused by the doorway, waiting.

It didn't take long before the man noticed her presence, and he gave her a smile. Lenalee silently waved back in response.

With a last hit that sent the child falling flat on his back, the man ordered the child to take a break. The man clapped Lenalee on the shoulder as he left the room, making sure to shut the door after him.

The child stood up a moment later, breathing heavily.

Lenalee stared.

And stared even more.

She blinked, once, twice.

…Eh?

Was Komui wrong? He did say that the new member was a boy and was currently at the training grounds, but the person before her now… That was a girl, wasn't it?

The child had such beautiful hair, looking to be as soft as silk. The dark colour only served to enhance smoothness of it, tempting Lenalee to try running her hands through it. And those ears and tail surely belong to the feline family, but she had never seen such a long tail on that small a body before. As odd as it was, it didn't look out of place.

The child turned, reaching for a water bottle.

After drinking down nearly half the water, Lenalee's presence was finally noticed.

Immediately, the child's tail puffed up in instinctive aggression, and those ears flattened down.

Lenalee blinked, and quickly said, "Um! I'm not going to hurt you! I just wanted to meet the new member."

The child blinked, taking in the ears on her head. Her little tail couldn't be seen since she was facing the child.

The child relaxed, though those beautiful dark blue eyes still watched her with suspicion.

Those refined features and eyes… Surely this must be a girl! Perhaps, had her brother forgotten to tell her that there was another member who joined?

"I'm Lenalee Lee, younger sister of Komui Lee, the Head of the Black Order. Um, you are a girl, aren't you?"

The child blinked.

Then those eyebrows and mouth turned down into a little frown, as the child disagreed with Lenalee's words with a headshake.

Lenalee tilted her head, suddenly calling her brother's words. _From the moment Tiedoll brought him here until now, I have never heard him speak._

"…Eh?" She gasped. "What! That can't be! You are that new boy?"

The child nodded.

Lenalee stared, her mouth having fallen open with shock.

The boy turned away, though he still glanced back at her, his tail waving in curiosity.

With a blink, Lenalee gathered herself.

"Hey!" She jogged up to him, grabbing hold of his wrist. He startled, flinching. "Oh, did I frighten you? I'm sorry." She quickly apologised, letting go of the boy's wrist and lowering her head.

The boy paused, and then shrugged. But Lenalee didn't see it. The boy's tail brushed against her arm, ever so slightly, but it was enough to get her to raise her head again.

…He didn't look mad.

Lenalee smiled, relieved.

"Um, earlier, the reason I grab onto you is that since the martial arts instructor has given you a break, I thought that perhaps, we could eat something together. I want to get to know you."

The boy stared at her, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Lenalee stared back, not averting her eyes. Eventually, the boy nodded.

Permission granted, Lenalee immediately dragged him out of the room, leading the way to the cafeteria. The boy kept up with her speed really well, was it because he was part cat?

As she thought to herself, they arrived at the cafeteria.

She dashed up to the window to where orders for food were usually taken.

"Jerry!" She called out.

"Oh? What's this? Looks like our little miss has finally returned from her trip outside!" A dark-skinned man with purple hair kept in neat braids poke his head out from the other side of the window. He had on a pair of sunglasses too.

"I'm back, Jerry!"

"Welcome back. What will you be eating today?" Jerry asked.

"Anything's fine. I like whatever you make, Jerry!"

"How sweet! Alright! I'll make you some delicious food and – oh?" Jerry paused, staring at something behind Lenalee. "Oh my? The super silent new boy is with you?"

Lenalee turned around, and then realised that she still had a hold on the boy's wrist. She quickly let go with a soft, bashful murmur of an apology.

"Um, Jerry. What has he been eating so far?" Lenalee inquired.

"Many things. He came up one day and just stared at me without a word. He didn't respond to anything. So I started giving him different types of cuisine every day. He never complained, though he didn't really touch any sweet things."

Jerry smiled. "For today, how about some Japanese food, little boy?"

The boy's ears flicked as he turned his gaze away, uninterested. Jerry took that as a consent, and began to happily make their food.

In no time, Lenalee and the boy had their food trays in their hands. Lenalee sought out an empty table, and the child accompanied her. Lenalee observed the boy as he ate.

From the first bite, the boy's eyes widened in surprise.

Lenalee blinked, a smile growing on her face as she watched the boy devour the food happily. How did she know that he was happy even though there wasn't much of a change of expressions? Lenalee giggled. Just looking at the boy's tail was more than enough.

The boy's tail was really honest!

It rose to the air and stayed that way as he ate, even quivering a little.

Lenalee found herself smiling throughout their meal, influenced by the boy's delight. When they had gone to return to tray, Jerry took one look at the boy's tail that still hadn't lowered and exploded into a mess of pure happiness.

"How cute! Little boy, you liked that, didn't you? Aren't you just adorable? Little boy, what you ate earlier is called 'soba'! From now on, just tell me whenever you feel like eating it, alright?"

The boy's ears flattened against his head as a very, very faint hint of red dusted across his cheeks.

Jerry squealed.

Lenalee laughed as she saved the boy from Jerry and pulled him back into the training room, little giggles spilling from her lips all the while.

* * *

"Hey." Lenalee called out to the boy once they were seated comfortably.

The boy glanced at her.

"What's your name?" She asked.

The boy's twitching tail paused, falling still.

Lenalee smiled softly, but her eyes clearly told the boy that she would wait until she got an answer, no matter how long it would take.

The boy did not say anything, turning his head away.

Lenalee didn't mind it, she simply kept looking at the boy as a means of silent pressure. It was just enough to make him awkward, but not exactly uncomfortable.

Time slowly ticked away in the silent room, with the boy determinedly avoiding her gaze.

He seemed to be waiting for the instructor to return and save him, but that won't happen. As long as Lenalee's presence was still registered onto the screen outside the door, the instructor won't interrupt.

The boy's tail lashed from side to side sometimes, never once looking away from the ground as he frowned. Minutes passed, and Lenalee was very impressed with the boy's determination. It only made her smile more, even tilting her head.

Eventually, the boy's ears flattened against his head as he curled his tail around his legs. He lifted his gaze, that beautiful pair of dark blue eyes staring straight into Lenalee's.

And then there came a soft voice, slightly hoarse from disuse, but still clear enough.

"Kanda Yuu."

* * *

.

.

 **A/N:**

Hoshino Katsura has stated that Lenalee mistook Kanda as a girl the first time they met, though that scene was never drawn. I'm glad that I could include it in this story, with my own take to it. Haha.


	8. Chapter 7

x

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

Kanda's ears swerved back, picking up the sounds of running footsteps long before its owner came into view. He knew who those footsteps belonged to, so he did not bother to stop. Soon enough, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Kanda!"

Kanda turned, staring at Komui making his way towards him.

"What?" He asked.

"Come by the science department after breakfast, we need to scan the microchip within you again to make the final adjustments on your Trigger." Komui instructed.

Kanda nodded.

After receiving Kanda's agreement, Komui let out a sigh.

"Really, Kanda. Please stop breaking your swords and shattering the Trigger inside."

Kanda clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"It's not that I want to break them. They are just too weak! I've told you countless times to upgrade the strength of my swords."

"We do! It's just that you keep getting stronger and stronger. The swords don't even last five months before breaking." Komui huffed.

Kanda grunted, turning his face away.

Komui paused, silently observing Kanda. A little smile began to grow on his face, one that Kanda clearly noticed.

"Why the hell are you smiling so creepily for?" Kanda growled out, eyebrows furrowed into a displeased frown.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that time passed really fast. It's already been six years since you came. You're sixteen now, huh. You have grown a lot from the little kid you were. You know, you were so cute as a child, just like a little kitten. Now you've grown into quite a beautiful person, haven't you?" Komui grinned, using a hand to cup his cheek. "I'm suppose you can say I'm happy."

Goosebumps rose along Kanda's skin, and he hissed at Komui. His tail lashed from side to side behind him, trying to somehow dispel the revolting sappiness from Komui's words.

Damn it! He didn't have his sword with him. He couldn't slice up Komui like this. Was that why Komui suddenly had the courage to spout such sappy lines to him?

Kanda's fingernails began to grow out, turning into hard claws.

He didn't like using his claws. After all, he would much rather handle a sword than fight using such a barbaric way.

…But right now, he didn't have his sword.

Komui's eyes snapped to Kanda's hands and then he was speeding away the next second, shouting back a reminder to Kanda as he vanished down the corridor.

"Remember to head to the science department after breakfast! If you don't, you won't be getting your sword!"

Kanda growled at the retreating man, body tensed as his ears tracked the fading sound of Komui's footsteps. He was contemplating chasing after that man to slice him up when a feminine voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Kanda? What are you doing?"

Kanda turned around, coming face-to-face with Lenalee.

After a second or two (and a blink from Lenalee), Kanda retracted his nails.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?" She asked.

Kanda shook his head.

"Then, let's go together."

With a nod, Kanda turned on his feet, ponytail fluttering out behind him as he proceeded to the cafeteria. Lenalee walked beside him, having no problems keeping up with him. But Kanda had slowed his strides a little, an unconscious action he had always done whenever Lenalee tagged along with him.

Lenalee accompanied him all the way, the clack of her heels on the polished floor filling the comfortable silence between them.

And she did not say a word until Kanda had finished eating.

"Kanda."

"What?"

"It seems we're getting someone new today. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Lenalee smiled.

Kanda didn't reply verbally, but his tail twitched.

"And Bookman is coming back too." She added.

"Bookman?" Kanda inquired.

"Hm? You don't know? Well, Bookman is a person who records history, they would even willingly enter a dangerous situation if it means that they can successfully gain knowledge that would perhaps change history." Lenalee explained.

Kanda's tail flicked to the side, resting on the bench he was seated on. "Hm."

Lenalee continued, "And it looks like he had picked up an apprentice along the way. If I'm not wrong, his apprentice is also modified like us. Oh, the apprentice is the newcomer I mentioned earlier. I wonder how he looks like." Lenalee tilted her head, smiling excitedly.

Kanda only made a soft noise at the back of his throat, a complete contrast to the excited Lenalee.

* * *

"Oh? Long black hair tied up into a ponytail, and that tall, lithe form bearing a katana… You must be Yuu-kun!"

Kanda whipped around, sword drawn. With deadly accuracy, he aimed for the neck of the person who had spoken from behind him.

A shocked cry rang out in the silent walkways, quickly followed by the piercing shrill of metal on metal. Kanda's sword made contact with the railings along the walkways of the Black Order, where the person who had spoken had immediately ducked down.

Kanda paused for a moment to take in the appearance of the man before him.

A young man who had on a green bandana to hold up his long red hair was staring back at him. His single green eye was wide with shock, while the right eye was covered by an eyepatch. He was wearing a plain shirt with long pants tucked into his black boots. There was a holder strapped to his thigh, containing a miniature hammer.

Kanda's eyes narrowed and he raised his sword again, ready to decapitate the person before him.

"Kanda, stop that!"

Kanda froze.

He raised his head, gaze settling on a frowning Lenalee who had her hands on her hips.

"That person is Lavi Bookman, apprentice of Bookman," Lenalee explained. "He's going to be one of us now, so put your sword away."

Kanda glared down at Lavi.

Lavi gave him a hesitant smile, still spooked by Kanda's reaction.

Kanda brought his sword down to Lavi's neck, pressing it against the pale skin and he hissed out a warning, "Then he had better learn to not call me by my first name, or I will slice him up."

"Kanda." Faced with a frowning Lenalee walking towards him, Kanda pulled back his sword and stepped away with a click of his tongue.

Lenalee help Lavi up, softly inquiring if he was alright.

"I'm fine, thanks." Lavi smiled shakily. He glanced at Kanda who was carefully sliding his katana back into its sheath. "How scary… Anyway, he hates people calling him by his first name? But General Tiedoll does it all the time."

Kanda's head snapped up, and he bared his fangs at Lavi.

Lavi flinched back.

With a snort, Kanda turned on his feet and walked away.

Lenalee only smiled helplessly back at Lavi, apologising on Kanda's behalf. "Don't mind him. Kanda is a little difficult around other people."

"A little? Threatening to decapitate someone is considered as 'a little'?" Lavi muttered. The next second however, he was already smiling brightly at Lenalee.

"I never did get your name, did I?" Lavi asked.

"I'm Lenalee Lee."

"Oh? You share the same surname as the Head of the Black Order?"

Lenalee smiled.

"Yes. He is my older brother."

Realisation dawned in Lavi's eye. "I see!"

"Oh, that's right. Where is Bookman?" Lenalee asked.

"The Old Panda is meeting with Komui," Lavi answered. "In the meantime, will you show me around?" He grinned.

Lenalee softly laughed.

"Of course!"


	9. Chapter 8

x

 **Chapter Eight**

* * *

Kanda made his way down to the first level, planning to do some training now that his sword was fixed.

His steps faltered slightly as he caught sight of Marie sitting near the training grounds.

Noise Marie, a normal human within the Black Order. He was huge, towering at a height of about two metres. He had a large build too. He was not fat, but muscular. All he needed to do was walk down a road and people would clear the way for him, intimidated by his size.

Many years ago, while helping out some modified slaves, he met with an accident that robbed him of his sight. But that didn't stop him from doing his job, and Komui had developed special headphones to aid in his hearing.

Marie was among the first people Kanda met upon entering the Black Order, someone that didn't annoy him as others would. That was why Kanda didn't mind being in Marie's presence.

So far, there were only two people whom Kanda could be around without the caution that he took with others; Lenalee and Marie.

Marie raised his head, looking at Kanda's direction.

"Kanda?"

Kanda grunted out an affirmation.

"Here to train? It seems like your sword is fixed."

Kanda nodded once. He did not know how Marie did it, but somehow, he was even able to pick up on actions like nodding even without his sight.

Kanda walked past Marie, and was about to open the door to a training room when Marie's words stopped him.

"Oh yes. General Tiedoll is also coming back today, from what I heard."

Kanda lowered his head, eyes narrowing.

"Kanda? What's wrong?" Marie asked, picking up on Kanda's shift in mood.

Kanda turned away from the door, sitting down beside Marie instead.

"I never asked before, but since even that rabbit earlier mentioned it…" Kanda muttered to himself, staring at the ground.

Marie waited patiently.

"Why do you refer to Tiedoll as a 'General'? Isn't having any affiliations with the Black Order dangerous for him? So why do you all still refer to him that way?" Kanda asked.

Marie smiled. "Do you know what the jobs of 'Generals' is?"

Kanda grunted. "To find more modified humans for Komui?"

Marie chuckled.

"Yes. And that is what Tiedoll is doing. He is not extremely active with helping out Komui, but compared to other Generals, he is doing a good job. It may be crude, but he usually picks abandoned modified humans off the road.

"Normal humans throw away modified humans for many different reasons. There are those who do not want to bear the cost of destroying a modified slave, so the owners simply throw them into a dumpster. Depending on the condition of the slaves, they either die that way or wait there until someone else picks them up.

"General Tiedoll goes around the world to fulfil his artistic side, but at the same side, he also looks out for modified humans. You were an exception, Kanda. Komui specifically asked Tiedoll to enter a shop within the Underworld because he wanted information about how the Underworld was running. It's always better to be prepared, Komui had said. Rather than moving about blindly, having some information on those involved in this business is crucial."

Marie paused, letting Kanda take it in.

"Searching for modified humans to save is what Tiedoll does out of the goodwill of his heart, so regardless of whether he is an official member of the Black Order or not, within the Black Order, he has naturally been given the title of a General."

Marie slightly tilted his head as he added, "We are careful on how we address him outside, but as long as we are not exposed, calling him as 'General' is fine. Now that Komui has made a Trigger for you, no one will suspect anything even if you refer him as such."

Kanda softly hummed in acknowledgement of Marie's words.

"I see."

A moment later, Kanda stood up, and entered the training room.

* * *

o-0-o

* * *

"What?"

Kanda stared at Komui, his eyes widening a little in surprise.

"You have been stuck inside the Black Order for many years, training yourself to become stronger. You've done really well, so now you should take a break." Komui smiled.

"…"

Kanda's ears flicked, his tail twitching. He had been dragged into the science department the moment he had stepped out of his room, his sword taken away from him.

Before Kanda could destroy the entire science department in anger, a scientist had briefly explained to him that they received instructions to quickly inspect the sword for any damage taken over the past few weeks during his training practice.

And that Kanda was to report to Komui.

Therefore, he was now currently standing in front of Komui, who was seated at his desk, surrounded by piles of artificial paper and floating screens that required his attention.

"And Tiedoll is here too, even staying in the Black Order for over a week, which is quite rare for him. So I took the opportunity to ask him for a small favour."

"…A favour?" Kanda repeated, suspicious.

"You don't have to look at me like that. All I asked was for him to bring you along with his travels. Go out and see the world, take however long you need. As long as the Trigger within your sword is intact, there shouldn't be any problems."

Kanda's tail flicked from side to side while he considered it. Eventually, he came to a decision and the glare in his eyes disappeared. Komui grinned upon seeing that.

"You should go have some breakfast, then go look for Tiedoll. Give us some time to do extra modifications on your sword to increase its durability." He instructed.

With a nod, Kanda silently left the room.

* * *

"Woah! So you're a cat?" Lavi exclaimed, startling Kanda.

Kanda's head snapped to the side, where Lavi had snuck up on him. He was too careless, so deeply lost in his thoughts that he didn't pick up on Lavi's presence.

"That's one long tail you have." Lavi commented, staring at Kanda's tail with unconcealed curiosity.

Kanda whipped his tail to the side, away from where Lavi was, but he didn't try to hide it.

"What do you want?"

Lavi shrugged. "Nothing. I just couldn't help it. It's been two weeks since I've arrived here, and this is the first time I've seen your ears and tail. Oh! By the way, I'm a fox!" Lavi grinned.

Kanda clicked his tongue, annoyed. He turned his face away, not responding to Lavi.

"Where are you headed to?" Lavi asked.

Kanda remained silent.

"Let's see… This is the way towards the cafeteria, right? It's rare for you to have breakfast this late." Lavi murmured to himself.

Kanda's eyes shifted onto Lavi, glaring at him.

Lavi blinked, surprised. "Woah! Amazing! Somehow, I can tell what you're thinking about even though all you did was glare!" Lavi chuckled, waving his hand as though to ward off Kanda's suspicions. "You don't have to be so wary about how I know your habits. Lenalee told me that you wake up real early to train, and I've never seen you in the cafeteria during the usual breakfast hours. So it's easy to tell that you're always taking your breakfast at early hours."

"…Hmph." Kanda snorted, looking away.

He walked past Lavi, overtaking him. He stopped at Jerry's window, ordering his food.

"Tempura Soba."

"Coming right up!"

Kanda waited quietly, ignoring Lavi behind him.

After finding a seat, before he could start eating, Lavi slid into the open space opposite Kanda, heedless of the fierce glares thrown his way.

With an annoyed click of his tongue, Kanda proceeded to eat, never once taking part in the idle chatter coming from Lavi.

* * *

"Kanda!"

Lenalee ran up to Kanda, who had turned around and stopped, waiting for her. As unsociable as he was, watching those little _considerate_ actions of Kanda's filled Lenalee with warmth. He didn't say it, but she knew that Kanda actually trusted her to an extent.

"The Head Nurse is calling for you. She said she has something important to talk to you about before you leave."

Kanda nodded, changing his intended direction and heading for the infirmary instead.

Lenalee didn't follow him, only watching him go with a smile on her face. Once he was out of sight, she ran towards her room to grab the item she had made especially for Kanda.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:**

I like surprising my readers, and watching you guys take guesses on what Allen will be is fun! Hehe (: Thank you for your patience, Allen will appear in the next chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

Kanda stared at all the information spread out before him, his eyes widening a fraction in surprise.

"Like I said, your body is unique. That tattoo on your chest symbolises more than you think."

Kanda raised his head from the screens in front of him, settling his gaze on the Head Nurse as he listened. The Head Nurse stared at him for a while, before she softly asked, "Do you remember anything of your past? Such as the name of the laboratory you were in, or who were the people there?"

Kanda lowered his eyes, frowning as he tried to recall.

Eventually, he shook his head from side to side.

"I have memories, but none of which are what you are looking for. I do not know where the laboratory was located, nor can I remember the identities of the scientists."

"I see." The Head Nurse turned around and walked to her desk. "That's alright. You may not remember now, but you may begin to recall things sometime in the future. There's no rush."

Kanda glanced at the information pages again, unable to look away from the large, bold heading of the data screen before him.

"Regeneration, huh." He muttered.

"You have noticed it yourself, haven't you? That your body is different." The Head Nurse's voice drifted over from where she was fiddling with something, though Kanda couldn't see what it was.

He did not answer, but the Head Nurse wasn't exactly looking for one either.

"However, that ability of yours is not infinite. One day, it will surely run out." The Head Nurse turned around, holding on to something in her hands.

It was an hourglass, and a lotus flower in bloom was contained within.

"Take this as a gauge. Every time a flower petal falls, it means that your ability is slowly degrading. We have created this from analysing your body the best we could, so that you would be able to clearly see how much 'time' you have regarding the regeneration ability."

"…What happens when it runs out?" Kanda finally asked after a moment of silence.

"When your ability no longer works, you will not be able to heal life-threatening wounds on your own. If you don't receive help in time, you will, just like us ordinary humans, die from it."

With a soft grunt, Kanda nodded.

"I understand."

He reached out, taking the hourglass from the Head Nurse carefully.

"Your regeneration allows you to recover even if your body is completely destroyed. However, when it reaches that stage, there is a price you have to pay in order to heal yourself."

"A price?"

"Yes. Your life force is used to bring you back to life. Right now, we do not have an idea of where your limits are. You might be able to only bring yourself back to life once, or perhaps even a hundred times. I know that compared to when you were a child, you are now strong enough to easily defend yourself against most of the Black Order's enemies. But still, please exercise caution."

Kanda met the Head Nurse's eyes with firm and unwavering ones of his own. He did not say anything, but the look in his eyes was enough to satisfy the Head Nurse.

After leaving the infirmary, Kanda made a detour to his room, placing down the hourglass onto his only desk.

He didn't spare it a second glance as he left to meet up with Tiedoll.

* * *

"Seems like you're all already to go."

"Yes."

Tiedoll smiled, leaning against his car as he spoke to Komui.

Komui glanced around, blinking.

"Where's Kanda?"

"He was here. We were just about to leave, but a scientist came and said something about last minute checks. In order to get Kanda to follow him, he snatched the sword away while running for his life towards the science department."

Komui chuckled. "Ah, that boy is so easily to control. Just take his sword away and he will blindly follow that person wherever he may go just to get it back."

Tiedoll softly laughed.

"That's true. It's a dangerous habit though. I hope he won't do the same thing while we are travelling around."

"He will be fine, he only recklessly follows the scientists here because he feels that he can trust them, doesn't he?" Komui smiled.

"Perhaps so."

A peaceful silence fell upon the both of them for a while.

From the distance, sounds of running footsteps quickly approached.

"Ah, he's back." Komui murmured.

Tiedoll hummed, tapping the car door to open it.

The door slid open just as Kanda appeared, a thin rope-like hair ribbon in his mouth while his freed hair flowed out behind him.

Tiedoll blinked at Kanda's current state, surprised. And then he burst out into laughter.

"You don't have to hurry so much, Yuu-kun. I won't take off without you."

Kanda only grunted in reply. He pulled the hair ribbon from his mouth and swiftly tied up his hair.

"Hm?" Komui suddenly leaned forward, right into Kanda's personal space. His eyes were locked on the pale cream hair ribbon. Both ends of it were decorated with red beads that had little feather ornaments, blending in seamlessly with the rope-like appearance.

"That hair ribbon, wasn't that the one Lenalee had been making these past few days?" Komui frowned, his glasses glinting as he observed. "The one that had her shutting herself away together with the science department because she wanted 'an extremely durable' hair tie. And she was very particular about the texture being soft and gentle on the hair as well…"

"Ah, this?" Kanda raised an eyebrow. "She gave it to me."

"G-g-g-gave it to you?" Komui gasped. "Lenalee's handmade item?"

"She suddenly came up to me and snatched away the one I was using earlier, then shoved this into my hands. I wasn't allowed to return it either." Kanda's eyebrows furrowed, though he didn't sound as annoyed as he appeared to be. "Chasing after her will take too much time, so I had no choice."

Komui's eyes grew comically wide, eyebrows rising so high that it even reached his beret. And in the next instant, his face crumpled into a crying mess.

"Lenalee!" Komui aggrieved voice rang out in the quiet front yard. "Why did you give your handmade item to such an unsociable man instead of your older brother!"

Komui buried his face into his face, curling up into a ball on the ground as he wailed.

Kanda blankly stared down at him for a moment, and then decided to ignore Komui, climbing into the car after a polite nod towards a chuckling Tiedoll.

"Komui, we're leaving now." Tiedoll softly informed.

Komui straightened up, regaining composure in under a second, seeing them off with gentle eyes.

"Yes. Be careful."

Tiedoll dip his head in a bow, climbing into the car.

"Kanda." Komui suddenly called out to him, his voice taking on a serious tone.

Kanda shifted in his seat, turning his head to look at Komui.

"Though you have your Trigger to hide those ears and tail, but you are required to be within an arm's length of your sword. Any further, and the Trigger will fail. And also…" Komui lightly tapped on his chest, the hidden meaning not lost on Kanda.

"Be careful, Kanda."

Kanda nodded once, his eyes clearly telling Komui that he knew the dangers and was prepared for it.

Komui smiled.

The car door slid close, and with a hiss, it took off from the ground and flew into the air.

Komui stood there silently, watching until Tiedoll's car disappeared into the sky.

* * *

"Here."

Tiedoll handed over one of the golem he had taken from a slim pouch by his waist to Kanda.

Kanda blinked at it, accepting it with a nod of thanks.

"It's one of the Black Order's specially made golem, it will be useful since we will be travelling around."

Kanda stared at the bat-like golem, the single eye was closed as the golem was still deactivated. He shook it from side to side, but the golem did not activate. He frowned.

"Use your blood. A single drop is enough. That golem will be yours from now on, so if it's destroyed, the headquarters will notice it."

Kanda pressed a claw to his index finger, cutting deep enough for a little drop of blood to drip onto the golem. The golem's eye opened, little wings beating hard as it lifted itself into the air, floating before Kanda.

"Initiating registration." A mechanical voice came from the golem. Kanda was scanned from head to toe, and then the golem spoke again. "Process completed. Identity confirmed."

The golem flew to Kanda's side, resting on his shoulder.

"Komui isn't going to send people over to help every time a golem is destroyed, is he?" Kanda asked.

"Haha. He won't, since the Black Order members are rather hopeless at taking care of them. But he would definitely send help if it's requested just moments before the golem is destroyed."

Tiedoll chuckled then. "But seeing as how you have grown so strong, Komui wouldn't worry so much if it's your golem that's destroyed since you can take care of yourself just fine."

Kanda hummed, "I see."

With a soft exhale, he leaned back into the seat and turned his head to look out the window. As he stared at the changing landscape below, he softly enquired about their destination.

"Where are we going?"

"I was thinking of heading to Switzerland." Tiedoll answered.

"…Hm." Kanda stared at Tiedoll for a moment, enough time for Tiedoll to notice the hint of curiosity in his eyes. He smiled. "You don't know where that is, do you?"

Kanda quickly turned away, not replying at all.

Laughing, Tiedoll explained, "It's not that far off from here. It will take a few hours, but I didn't want to travel to somewhere far for your first trip out. We can go further once you're used to it."

"…I'll be fine, you don't have to restrict yourself because of me." Kanda murmured.

"It's fine, it's fine. Besides, Switzerland has some nice places that I've yet to visit too."

"…Okay."

Even though Kanda was clearly being teased, his face was relaxed, devoid of its usual frown. He stuck close to the window, watching the changing scenery with barely concealed interest.

The corners of Tiedoll's lips pulled up into a large grin as he watched Kanda.

Deciding against teasing Kanda more, he sank into his seat comfortably. He was excited, to say the least, because this was Kanda's first time going out to see the world. His reactions were cute too. It was like having an apprentice, though Kanda would probably never pick up a pencil to draw.

A soft chuckle left his lips as he leisurely watched the passing scenery.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

 **To jy24:** Oh! You guessed certain parts correctly, well done! (: But since I don't want to give spoilers, I won't be saying what they are exactly. Hahaha. Everything will be fully explained in the next chapter~

 **To readwithcats:** Haha, it's okay, I understand. When I first started reading DGM, I was more interested in Allen compared to everyone else. But after some time, I was drawn to the other characters, and Allen no longer mattered that much to me. ^^;;

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

* * *

"Oh, look at this! Kanda, come try this on!"

"What? No way."

"Why not? We're in China, so of course we have to experience a different culture."

"No."

"And also, I heard that these clothes used to be worn by the Chinese nobility. I think they would suit you well, so go try it on."

"No."

"Here, quickly."

"…Tch."

"Hurry back, okay?"

"…"

"Oh? As expected, they really do suit you well! Now stay still for a moment while I draw a portrait!"

"No way!"

* * *

"Here, Kanda."

"I don't need it."

"It's not a matter of whether you need it or not, this is one of Spain's specialty dishes! Here, eat."

"I don't want it."

"You can't just eat soba for your three meals, it's not healthy. Now, eat."

"No."

"Kan-da!"

"…Tch."

"There we go. Good boy."

* * *

"My, the colosseum in Rome really is fascinating. Not just that, the city is filled with amazing art and architecture too."

"Are we staying?"

"We should, it's a good place to draw."

"For how long?"

"Hm. How long do you want to stay, Kanda?"

"Anything's fine."

"Hm… Then, two weeks?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Kanda! We're heading to Venice next!"

"When?"

"Now."

"…Okay."

"By the way, I have a place I want to check out first, so head over and wait for me in Venice. I'll follow soon."

"Hah? No way. If I leave you, you will disappear somewhere and I will have to spend the next couple weeks searching for you."

"Oh my, are you still holding a grudge over that? It's not good for a man to be petty, you know."

"Who cares about being petty when your safety is more important? I was barely in time to save you from getting mugged because you were too engrossed in your paintings!"

"Yes, yes. I'll be alright, don't worry. Hurry up and go first."

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh my. So stubborn. Fine, fine. Come along then. I just want to visit the ancient ruins."

* * *

"Well... I wonder if we should perhaps start heading back?"

Tiedoll murmured to himself as he stared up at the sky.

"Are we going?" Kanda asked from where he was standing some distance behind Tiedoll. His katana was secured firmly around his back, carefully positioned so that it wouldn't impede his movements yet still allowing him to easily draw it at a moment's notice.

"How long has it been since we started travelling around?"

Kanda frowned a little, thinking. "…About a year," he answered.

"I see. A year, huh."

Tiedoll looked away from the sky, sweeping his gaze over the land.

They were in Northern India, where the palaces and old buildings were still unaffected by the technology advancement. However, there were many world leaders calling for those buildings to be torn down and replaced with ones that suit the highly advanced technology they now had. Within the next twenty years or so, it might be possible that such beautiful buildings bearing thousands of years of history will be destroyed.

Tiedoll sighed softly, turning around.

"Let's go back." He gestured towards the car parked not too far away.

Kanda nodded.

In one year, Kanda had grown quite a bit. He was taller now, and stronger too. Though he was travelling, he never once slacked off on his training. Tiedoll was rather proud of him.

The sound of their footfalls echoed in the peaceful atmosphere as they walked towards the car, when Kanda abruptly stopped.

Tiedoll noticed, turning back slightly in curiosity.

"What is it?" He asked quietly.

"…I heard something." Kanda replied.

Those his ears were hidden behind technology, it didn't mean that they weren't there or that he now hears through his human pair of ears. His hearing was still as sensitive as ever, which was why Tiedoll never once doubted him.

"Where is it from?"

"Over there." Kanda pointed to the left.

"I see. That's near the old palace, isn't it? Why don't you go and take a look?" Tiedoll suggested.

Kanda obeyed, turning around. His footsteps were light and quick as he approached the sound he heard before.

Within the loose rubble near the palace, there came the sound of scratching again. It was weak, but for Kanda, it was enough. He moved closer, reaching down to pick up the concrete blocks, tossing them away.

He had managed to clear away quite a few of the heavy concrete when the sound changed. There was still the sound of scratching, but something that sounded like the rustling of clothes accompanied it.

Kanda paused.

Rustling of clothes? The only beings that wore clothes were humans. Was there a person trapped underneath?

Kanda reached down again, tossing away more of the rubble.

And then finally, a face came to view.

Half-opened eyes stared at Kanda for a mere second, before they closed.

Kanda took in the pale face, marred with an angry red scar, the messy white hair, and the arm that was weakly clawing at the ground. The grotesque, blood red left arm with thick veins crawling all the way up to the shoulder was – to put it simply, unsightly. It was a sight that would have made any other person recoil with disgust.

But Kanda's expression didn't change at all.

His eyes travelled down the arm, to the fingers.

They were completely unlike a normal human's.

From each joint of the finger, a scale protruded. It was made all the more obvious because the fingers were bent, but if they were lying flat, Kanda was sure that it would be almost indiscernible. Those scales… They looked as though they belonged to a reptile, yet not.

It was different, it was strange.

Even so, the one thing Kanda knew for sure was that this was not an ordinary human. This tiny, pale boy was a modified human, most likely a slave of some sort.

With a huff, Kanda pulled out his sword.

He sliced through the remaining concrete like it was nothing more than paper, and then slid the sword back into its sheath. Now that he had gotten rid of all the rubble that was trapping the boy, he was able to get a better look.

A pair of dirty white ears rested on the boy's head, resembling those of a wolf. One of the ears was caked in dried blood, turning the fur into a deep red. There wasn't any tail, but it may have been hidden in his oddly thick clothes or perhaps cut off.

Kanda didn't bother to thoroughly search, and instead, reached down to lift the unconscious boy onto his shoulder.

He briskly turned around, returning to Tiedoll's side.

"Hm? A human?" Tiedoll asked when Kanda approached close enough.

"No, a modified slave. Found him within the rubble."

"Oh?"

Kanda set the boy down, and Tiedoll bend over, inspecting him.

"Hm? Oh my. Here, look at this." Tiedoll pointed down at the boy's torso, where almost every inch of exposed skin showing through the tears in the shirt was covered with still healing scars. There must surely be more on his back. "He seems to be in quite a terrible condition."

"From experiments?" Kanda asked.

"Perhaps."

"What are you going to do? Bring him back with us?"

Tiedoll lightly stroked his beard, thinking.

"I wonder? Seeing as how recent these scars are, this boy's owner must be somewhere close. Perhaps the boy ran away, and if we were to just kidnap him, it would be bad if the owner decides to make him self-destruct before we reach the Order."

"Then, are we leaving him here?"

"Hm." Tiedoll's eyes narrowed as he hummed contemplatively.

A moment of silence passed, and then Tiedoll mumbled softly to himself.

"Maybe leaving him here would be best. Normally, we don't immediately pick up slaves with such recent wounds, choosing to leave them be for a couple of days first to be sure that there's no one coming for them."

Kanda did not reply, simply waiting until Tiedoll came to a decision.

"But this boy's condition is rather bad. I'm not sure if he would make it if left untreated for too long. Hm… If it was you, what choice would you make?" Tiedoll suddenly directed a question at Kanda.

Kanda blinked, surprised. He stared down at the pale boy, and frowned.

"Leaving him here would be a good choice, since his wounds appear to be really recent. And we do not know the identity of the owner, so it's dangerous if they come after us. Perhaps his owner may even be one of the Order's enemies. We should not recklessly endanger the Order. If someone troublesome comes and causes chaos because of this boy, it would be too late to throw him out." He said.

Tiedoll nodded.

"Yes, that is true. The Order is home to many, and we cannot endanger those who have nowhere else to go, all for one boy who may have a place to return to, no matter how mistreated he may be."

"So we will leave him here?" Kanda asked.

"Yes."

Kanda stepped over the boy, approaching Tiedoll's car without taking another glance behind. He reached out, tapping the floating screen to open the door. But he didn't enter, waiting for Tiedoll to climb in first.

Tiedoll was scanning through his inventory, an uncharacteristic frown on his face, walking slowly towards the car.

He felt bad about leaving the boy behind, with those injuries he had. And he seemed really young too. There must be something that he could use; something to help the boy, at the very least.

"Oh ho?" With a soft exclamation of shock, Tiedoll stopped right before the car.

"What is it?" Kanda enquired.

"I found something interesting. With this, it might work." Tiedoll murmured, reaching into the inventory screen and pulling out an item.

Kanda stared at it.

It was… a collar.

The collar was about two inches wide, barely a centimetre thick, made with black-coated aluminium. There was something that appeared to be a gem fixed on the front, but on a closer look, it was an eye.

"…"

Kanda looked away from the collar, sending Tiedoll a questioning look.

"This is something Komui made while playing around. It's a collar that once it's put on, it will synchronise with the brain. It has quite a few functions, though I can't say that I know what they all are. But anyway, if we use this, we can control that boy." Tiedoll explained.

"Still, it won't help when he receives a command to self-destruct, will it?"

"Hm, it's never really been tested before, but Komui did say he added some safety measures so that it will at least interrupt the functioning of any microchip that is not made by the Order. And it also disables the tracking ability within the microchips."

Kanda stared at Tiedoll, then at the boy, and then back again.

"That collar has never been tested before… And you want to use it on the boy?"

"It's been through trial tests in the lab. It was all fine, nothing abnormal with it at all. The only unfortunate thing is that it got stored away after that, without it being put to use. What better time to use it than now?"

"…No." Kanda quickly rejected Tiedoll.

"Why not? We can take a chance." Tiedoll smiled happily. "And it won't be for a prolonged time, it's just a temporary measure until we get back," he added.

Kanda was left speechless.

Using a questionable technology produced by Komui himself, if the boy dies as a result… Then again, if they simply left him as he was, he might die too. Both consequence were bad.

"Here, take it." Tiedoll dumped the collar into Kanda's hands. "Go put it on the boy and then we can bring him with us."

Kanda stared down at the collar in his hands, not moving an inch. And with a sigh, he gave in. Walking over to the boy, he carefully crouched beside him, body on alert. Pressing onto the little button near the back, the collar opened up and Kanda slid it around the boy's neck.

The collar beeped as it closed, and the eye in the front opened, shining brightly before dimming to a tolerable level. The bright green eye – with a single narrow slit as a pupil – blinked at Kanda. It looked as though it was waiting for a command.

…Was he supposed to say something?

But what the hell was he supposed to say?

"…"

"…"

Kanda stared at it without a word, and the eye stared back.

"…Activate."

Eventually, Kanda decided to just attempt something.

Numerous beeping sounds suddenly came from the collar, Kanda instinctively pulling away from it.

"Reading implanted microchip. Status: 60%... 100%... Recognition complete, commencing destabilising receptors… Completed. Initiating connection with the brain. Status: 48%... 75%... 91%... 100%... Connection established. The collar is now fully activated."

Kanda stared blankly down at the collar, his eyes a little wide.

A couple of seconds later, he unfroze. Picking up the boy, he tossed him into the car none too gently. Tiedoll was humming happily as Kanda settled into the seat beside him.

The door slid shut.

After one year, they were finally on their way back to the Black Order.

* * *

"How is he?" Tiedoll asked.

Komui lifted his head from where he was typing in some data, blinking at Tiedoll. "Huh?"

"The boy. The one we brought in."

"Oh. That boy. Well…" Komui pushed aside the current screen, reaching for a different one. "Let's see… Other than the fact that he's covered in wounds, he will need surgery for his damaged ear. Thankfully, the damage isn't severe enough to cause deafness."

"I see. And what about the microchip within him?"

Komui frowned. "That's where it gets a little strange. The microchip does seem to be the standard one used on all other slaves, but there had been some intense modifications done to it."

"Modifications?" Tiedoll's eyebrow raised. "Was that done by the Master of the boy?"

"Perhaps. It shocked me quite a bit when I first received the data on the boy. Those modifications done on the microchip… Whoever did it, is on par with the Black Order. The Black Order excels technology-wise, so much so that the government can't get any trace on us. But after reading that boy's microchip details…"

Tiedoll frowned. "I see. So this means that there is someone out there who is capable of matching the Black Order. If that's the case, that boy is a dangerous existence. Perhaps bringing him back was a mistake?"

Komui lips curled up into a little smile.

"Not quite. If you didn't bring him back, I wouldn't have known that there is someone out there with equal skills to the Black Order. So that is a good thing. But since that boy is still unconscious, we can't get any answers yet."

Komui lightly tapped on his desk, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Tiedoll."

"Hm?"

"When you picked up that boy, was there anyone else around?"

"Not that I know of. Kanda didn't pick up on anyone's presence either, other than the boy. Do you suspect that there may have been someone else there?"

"Well, I don't want to rule out that possibility. What if there was someone there, someone watching the both of you as you took the boy with you? I do not know why they didn't stop you, perhaps they had a motive."

"Hm." Tiedoll hummed thoughtfully, frowning deeply.

Komui sighed.

"However, I might just be overthinking things. Still, being cautious is better than letting down our guard. I had the boy moved to a different room, he's still getting medical care, but he is now isolated. Any further decisions will wait until he is awake."

* * *

x

* * *

"Hey. They took him, didn't they? The Black Order."

"Yeah. That collar-like device was actually able to cancel out _our_ microchip. There's no doubt that those were members of the Black Order."

"Hm~ Were they both human?"

"Who knows? The Black Order members are always using strange technologies, making it hard to discern between human and slave."

"But you were watching that long-haired man quite closely, weren't you?"

"He seemed interesting, that's all."

"Oh? Hehe."

"…You look happy."

"Of course! With this, we can finally have some fun!"

"I guess that's true. We've been patient for a long time, after all."

"Heh. You're excited too, aren't you?"

"Haha. Perhaps. Come on, let's go back. They're waiting for us."

"Hehehe. Okay!"


	12. Chapter 11

"Oh? Kanda?"

Kanda turned his head back to look at the doorway, where Lenalee had paused in shock. He gave her a slight nod as a greeting.

Lenalee blinked, stepping forward until she was beside him.

"How rare. Did you come to visit him? You usually do not bother with those we brought in." Lenalee commented.

Kanda turned back to face the infirmary bed where the boy that he had found was currently sleeping soundly, unaware of his surroundings. He shifted his gaze away, back onto the data screens he had been reading before Lenalee came into the room.

"It's because he's strange." He answered.

"Strange?"

"Yeah. Just what the hell is he? How are there so many mixed animal genes in one body? The fact that he had all these within him and yet he still looks remarkably human is strange."

Lenalee glanced at the boy, and then sighed.

"That's true. Everyone was amazed at this, and even Bookman got kicked out by the Head Nurse because he wouldn't stop trying to study the boy."

Kanda frowned at the screens before him.

"It feels like someone was playing around when they created him."

"Oh?" Lenalee raised her head in surprise. "Why would you say that?"

"That tail of his obviously does not belong to an actual animal. It's as though someone read a book on demons or the like and attempted to recreate it. And not only that, the normal animal parts all have some kind of deformity."

"Deformity? How so? Don't they function well enough?"

"No, that's not what I meant. According to this data, the genes are all in weird shapes." Kanda pointed to a screen before him. "Here, compared to normal modifications, it is as if someone had spliced together different animal genes, forcefully merging them and then stuff it all into the boy."

"That's… That's horrible." Lenalee gasped. She reached out, pulling the data screen closer to her as she read through it.

Kanda moved closer to the bed, staring down at the boy.

The boy had a relatively normal pair of wolf-like ears. But his tail was in no way normal. It was thin and white with red markings at the tips, very similar to the tails of cats.

But there was one thing that normal cats didn't have.

Kanda reached down, grabbing hold of the tail hanging limply over the side of the bed. He pulled it up slightly, and the tail separated. It wasn't fully parted into two tails, only the upper quarter of it was forked, looking like the letter 'y'.

"That tail…" Lenalee had abandoned the data screen to watch Kanda's actions, unconsciously voicing her thoughts as she stared at it. "I remember reading some fantasy books when I was younger, this reminds me of them."

"Hm?" Kanda paused to look at Lenalee, though he didn't let go of the tail.

Lenalee startled slightly, realising that she had spoken out loud. But then she shrugged and explained, "Have you heard about it before? Those stories regarding how a cat that has lived for a long time will transform and turn into a demon bearing twin tails. Those cats are considered as evil; with stories usually depicting them killing and eating humans."

"…I know about them. General Tiedoll forced me to read books on folklore before." Kanda frowned at the tail in his hand. "Those transformed cats are often said to bring about gloom and malevolence wherever they go."

Lenalee lightly tapped her cheek in thought. "Hm, you're right. I don't think I've ever heard of pleasant things associated with those cats." Her expression was suddenly filled with uneasiness as her gaze shifted from the tail to the boy and back again.

"Say, Kanda… I'm not one to easily believe in superstitions, but…"

Kanda turned to look at Lenalee, and though he didn't say anything, his gaze alone silently urged her to continue speaking. And Lenalee did just that, her voice taking on a slightly worried tone. "I don't know why but, looking at that tail, I somehow feel a little scared. Like… Like as though it is a warning to us or something."

"A warning?"

"Yes. A warning of an approaching calamity."

Kanda released the tail in his grip, straightening up.

Lenalee lowered her head, her voice almost a whisper as she said, "I know it sounds ridiculous, and that maybe it's all just my imagination… But to create a creature of ancient folklore that only brings about nothing but disaster, just what is the reason for doing such a thing?"

Kanda remained silent for a moment, taking in Lenalee's words, before he finally murmured, "We won't know unless the boy awakens and tells us. Perhaps, we may be able to get the identity of the one who did this."

Lenalee blinked, quickly lifting her head to stare at Kanda. She was grateful that he didn't just brush her words off as nothing more than an overactive imagination. With a small smile, she nodded. "Yes, looks like the only thing we can do now is to wait for him to wake up."

Kanda softly grunted, crossing his arms as he stared down at the boy. In the comfortable silence between them, Lenalee began to read through all the data screens. Kanda remained as motionless as a statue, his eyes fixed on the boy. A sudden frown crossed his features and in the next instant, he was bending down to roll the boy onto his right side, startling Lenalee.

"Wha – Hey, Kanda! What are you doing!" She cried out, rushing over to him.

"Take a look at this." Kanda simply answered.

Lenalee blinked, then did as instructed, staring down at the black wing Kanda had unfolded. There was only a single wing upon the left side of the boy's back, and it was completely bat-like. The wing wasn't large, it didn't even reach past the boy's waist.

"What is it?" Lenalee asked, unconsciously lowering her voice until it was barely above a whisper.

Kanda stretched out the wing a little more, and pointed to the joints. "Here, look closely. Can you see it?"

Lenalee frowned as she focused on the wing. Unlike Kanda with his superior cat vision, the experiments she went through had not managed to modify her vision even though her physical abilities were increased.

"There's something shimmering? …What? What are those? It can't be… Are those _scales?"_

"Yeah. I don't know why, but there are scales on the joints of the wing." Kanda folded the wing back up, and turned the boy to lay on his back again. The wing was folded cleanly, completely flat, but Kanda briefly wondered if it was uncomfortable to lie on.

"What in the world… Does he have snake genes too? But the data didn't state anything about it!" Lenalee exclaimed, going through it all once more.

"I had suspected that he had some reptilian genes as well, based on that red arm." Kanda lightly tapped on the boy's arm, and Lenalee leaned in close to take a better look. She flinched slightly as she stared down at the horrifying arm. She had always avoided it, because it was too painful to look at.

"You're right, Kanda. Those fingers really do appear very much like a reptile."

Kanda pulled the bedcovers over the boy, sparing Lenalee from having to look at that arm any longer. He softly hummed in acknowledgement of Lenalee's words and said, "Those fingers aside, I never expected to find scales on a _wing_."

He frowned. "You should get the Head Nurse to give him another, more thorough check. Even I only noticed it when I saw something glinting unnaturally behind the boy."

"Eh? But… Isn't it risky?" Lenalee questioned.

Kanda slowly shook his head. "Without the right settings, the technology won't be able to pick up on certain things. I know that if the intensity is too high, it would be risky enough to even cause death, but I think it should be alright for the boy."

"…I see. Then, I will tell my brother and have him instruct the Head Nurse." Lenalee hummed thoughtfully. "But since it's you who are saying this, I'm sure the Head Nurse will listen to your words and act accordingly even without my brother's permission."

Kanda's eyebrow raised slightly as he glanced at Lenalee.

Her eyes held sadness as she gazed back at him. It wasn't pity for him, but true sadness of a person who understood him. She explained, "Because you are special. You've been through twice the pain compared to normal human-modified slaves. As one who has been created, you must have seen much, much more suffering than we have, and because of that, you have a deeper understanding of things... Especially of a person's limits."

Lenalee fell silent, staring down at the floor.

Kanda didn't say anything, simply shifting his eyes away as the atmosphere became heavy. Lenalee fidgeted a little, feeling rather conscious of the awkwardness. She bit her lip, eyebrows furrowing for a moment before she lifted her head.

Her eyes shone with sudden playfulness, clearly attempting to change the mood. And Kanda was immediately wary. Lenalee could be quite merciless in her teasing, after all.

"Well, I suppose it's also because of your personality, Kanda. You are not the type to lie for your own gains, neither do you say things that you don't mean, and we all know that. And that's why we adore and trust you. Not to mention, it makes you really cute!"

Kanda's eyes widened at her unexpected attack, his mouth twisting down to a scowl and with a low grunt, he quickly turned his head away from her, facing the wall instead. Had his ears not been hidden by his Trigger, they would have been shown flattened against his head, clearly telling of his current feelings.

A normal person would have immediately been shaking in fear at his expression, where he seemed to be on the verge of slicing apart someone. But Lenalee was more than used to reading Kanda's expressions, and so she was able to pick up the subtle differences between true anger and embarrassed anger.

Kanda may have turned away from her to instinctively hide his face, but he needn't bother with such a futile action anyway, since Lenalee was still able to understand.

She laughed hard.

* * *

Komui stared at the man seated before him.

The couch opposite him was filled by a man leisurely sipping at his tea. He was really small, and from his height alone, it was possible to mistake him for a child. But the man had a face weathered with age that could be seen at a glance.

Bookman.

He had no surname nor his own personal name, they were not needed. He only had one name to go by; Bookman, the one who records history.

After a couple more sips of his tea, Bookman chose to break the silence between them.

"What are you going to do?"

Komui's eyebrow twitched, and he carefully replied, "I am waiting for him to wake up before making any decisions."

"Can you really afford such a relaxed attitude? Surely you have seen the data in that microchip. Shouldn't you be more worried seeing as how there are things within it that even the Black Order technology are unable to decode?"

"It is precisely because of that that I'm waiting before making any moves."

"And if the Black Order falls into chaos because of that decision of yours, will you hold responsibility of all the lives here?" Bookman lowered his teacup, steely eyes meeting Komui's.

"Carelessly moving due to excessive paranoia will bring this place to ruins, Bookman." Komui returned Bookman's gaze without flinching.

"Hm." Bookman leaned forward, placing his teacup onto the table. "But wasn't it you who always said that being cautious is better than not?"

"Of course. And I am being careful, in my own way."

Bookman stared at Komui, both of them engaged in a silent staring match. Bookman was the first to look away, standing up without a sound.

"Then I hope your decisions are the right ones, Komui Lee."

Bookman turned around, making to leave Komui's office.

"By the way, Bookman." Komui called out to him, and Bookman stopped, though he didn't turn back.

Komui relaxed into the couch, tilting his head slightly as he said, "I heard that you were kicked out of the boy's room by the Head Nurse. Have you already given up on investigating the boy after that one time? How unlike you."

Bookman snorted.

"It is not always me who has to do the legwork. Besides, this gives me a good opportunity to train a certain fool."

A sly, knowing smile formed on Komui's lips.

"Ah, I see now. Lavi, was it? The apprentice you picked up."

"Hm."

"I wonder if he really is as innocent and sincere as he appears. Or perhaps, is he true to the animal he is, carefully treading around as sly as a fox?" Komui smiled.

Bookman turned his face back slightly, enough that he could look at Komui with one eye.

"I wonder?" He smirked.

Komui didn't stop Bookman again as he left the office.

* * *

Kanda made his way to his room, returning after a long training session with Bookman.

He had been thinking of what Lenalee had said to him a couple of days before, that he was 'special' because he had seen much more than what an average modified slave would have. And he knew that it was true. He had heard stories of the experiences that normal slaves go through, and compared to them, his were very different.

It was even enough to rouse the curiosity of both the Head Nurse and the science department. They worked together, sometimes summoning him to the infirmary in order to check on how much he had recalled as time passed.

With a soft grunt, he shoved those thoughts away and entered his room.

Placing his sword onto his bed, he then sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths as he relaxed. A couple of minutes passed before he opened up his eyes again.

He shifted, propping his knee up and then rested an arm on it. From where he was currently positioned, he could clearly see the hourglass and the lotus inside if it.

The setting sun reflected off the polished glass, lighting up the shadows in his room.

Though his eyes were locked on the hourglass, he wasn't looking at it. His focus wasn't here, but on his memories.

He remembered the painfully bright lights shining down upon the operation table, the feeling of being cut open while he was strapped down tight so he couldn't move.

And also of being submerged in cylindrical tanks filled with green fluid, where air was given to him through a slim mask on his face. He wasn't the only one there. There were many others just like him, but try as he might, he couldn't recall their faces. He could only tell that there were rows upon rows of similar tanks, all filled with children.

And there was a room.

A tiny, tiny room that could barely hold two children at the same time.

In that room, sometimes, projections were shown. There were blue skies, green meadows, slick buildings, robots and humans. That was why Kanda wasn't overly surprise upon seeing the actual world for the first time.

He did not know why a laboratory would have such a room; after all, seeing a place that was vastly different from what they were used to would only cause problems. The world that was projected in that room was so different, so peaceful, _so tempting._ The desire – to run, to flee, to reach out and somehow, just somehow, experience a life of freedom, a life where there was no pain – would claw at their minds until they gave in.

Kanda knew that there were those who had attempted to leave, but whether or not they were successful, he didn't know. Because he had never seen them again. He had a feeling though, that they were most likely caught and disposed of.

How pitiable and foolish, to allow their hearts and minds to be captured by such shallow displays of happiness. Perhaps it could be considered a blessing that Kanda's heart and mind never swayed even though he had seen the temptations of 'another life' countless times.

Even so, to deliberately show such things to them, did they enjoy watching the children suffer that much? …Yes, that must be it. There were many different scenes in his memories, but the one thing that didn't change throughout them all, was the screams. Always, always, there were screams.

Screams of fear, of pain, of desperation.

They accompanied each memory, with some of the screams being his, and the rest belonging to others. He had grown used to them, numbing himself against it.

Filtering through those screams, there were other noises. Noises that slowly joined themselves together, becoming 'voices'.

And those voices belonged to their creators; the scientists.

The scientists in his memories were all blurry, black figures. It was impossible no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't see their faces. They had no features; no eyes, no mouths, nothing. It was too unnatural, this sudden block on his memories.

The only explanation would be that he had his memories tempered with. Such a thing was possible now, with how advanced technology was. But Kanda didn't understand what they were after.

Why would they leave everything else intact, only erasing their identities?

Was there something that they wanted to achieve?

The chime of a distant bell abruptly cut through and interrupted Kanda's recollections. He blinked, pulling himself out from his memories. The first thing that came into focus was the lotus within the hourglass.

The bell rang once more. There was a large clock that was placed near the rooms of the Black Order, and it would only ring during sunrise and sunset. Kanda's room – thankfully – wasn't near to where the clock was, so the ringing didn't bother him.

He softly exhaled, slow and even, as though he was meditating. He closed his eyes, letting himself be enveloped in darkness and clearing his mind.

When he opened them up again, his room was now completely dark. The sun has fully set. Kanda shifted, standing up. He grabbed his sword, strapping it to the holster at his waist.

He should go over and take a look at the white-haired kid that was still sleeping. While he was certainly an intriguing mess of animal genes, there was something else about him that caught Kanda's interest. He didn't know what it was, couldn't explain it.

Just that somehow, there was a feeling of uneasiness.

That kid…

He was dangerous.

* * *

Kanda slid the door open, taking only a single step inside before freezing.

There was someone else in the room, standing by the white-haired boy's bedside. Kanda immediately recognised that vibrant red hair. Eyebrows furrowing, he quietly shut the door and approached the only bed in the room.

The other person lifted his head, and a single green eye watched Kanda with mild surprise.

"Kanda?"

"What do you want, stupid rabbit?" Kanda grunted.

Lavi smiled. "Nothing? It's surprising to see you here."

Kanda snorted, and didn't reply.

"Are you watching over the boy?" Lavi asked. "Were you assigned as a guard?"

Kanda only shook his head, saying nothing else.

"Hm." Lavi blinked, he seemed curious about Kanda's actions, but he didn't press any further. Instead, he said, "By the way, how's the boy's condition? I can't access the information that the Head Nurse locked."

Kanda glanced at him, taking in the carefully neutral expression on Lavi's face.

"I haven't seen any of the most recent data on the boy either." Kanda replied. "But he's generally stable."

"Is that so?"

Lavi leaned down and lightly poked the boy's cheek. "If he's fine, why isn't he waking up?"

"How should I know?" Kanda growled.

"Eh… But you're close to the Head Nurse, aren't you? I mean, the Head Nurse tends to let you see certain data that the rest of us can't, excluding Komui. Even Lenalee is denied access!"

"Hmph." Kanda snorted. "What, are you trying to tell me that you're jealous?"

Lavi's lips curled up into a smirk. "I'm just curious. Why is it only you that is getting this special privilege? I've heard that you were created into existence, but you aren't the first to be created in such a way. Just where did you come from? A hidden laboratory, perhaps?"

Kanda's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to speak, but immediately clamped it shut and whipped his head around to stare down at the boy on the bed. There had been the faintest sound of cloth rustling earlier, though it had disappeared now.

"What's wrong?" Lavi asked.

"Shh!" Kanda hissed, concentrating on the boy.

The boy's pale fingers twitched, and then his eyelashes fluttered.

Lavi's eye went wide. "Oh! He's waking up!" He exclaimed. "…Should I get the Head Nurse?"

But Kanda didn't reply, just continuously frowning down at the stirring boy. Lavi shrugged, turning around and running off to find the Head Nurse. As expected, he easily found her in the main infirmary, and after informing that the boy was waking up, he was nearly bowled over as she sped past him.

They entered the room only to find it in a complete mess; the bed was overturned and all the machines were knocked over, strewn across the room. There were also deep gashes on both the walls and floor, clearly made with a sword.

And in the middle of the mess, stood Kanda with his sword drawn, pointing it at the neck of the snarling white-haired boy.


	13. Chapter 12

"Woah! Stop!" Lavi exclaimed, dashing towards Kanda.

Kanda raised an eyebrow, easily dodging Lavi. But that mere second of distraction had the white-haired boy leaping towards Kanda, the fingers of his left hand curling into a tight fist, causing the scales to protrude out like deadly claws. Kanda swiftly turned, avoiding the punch.

The boy held a broken piece of the metal bed frame in his right hand, defending against Kanda's sword with it while using his left to attack. He was surprisingly agile, and was actually able to keep up with Kanda so far. But that was as far as the boy could go. He was disoriented since he had just woken from a long sleep, and it was impossible to win against Kanda if one is not at their best.

That said, there weren't many who could actually win against him.

Kanda slammed a knee into the boy's chest, and then shoved him down onto the floor on his back. The boy snarled up at him, but he remained still as the chilling coldness of the sword's blade rested against his neck.

Kanda appraised the boy's reaction, and concluded that the boy wasn't a novice to fights. He knew not to recklessly struggle while being threatened by Kanda's sword. It wasn't that he was fearful, it was simply because he knew that Kanda really would have sliced his head off if he had tried anything.

"Dammit, Kanda! You can't kill him!" Lavi's shout drew their attention, but Kanda only grunted in reply, not taking his eyes off the boy.

The Head Nurse approached them, stopping beside Kanda. Surprisingly, she didn't immediately reprimand Kanda, and instead chose to bend down so that her large form wasn't towering over the boy and making him feel threatened.

"Boy," She said, "We do not want to hurt you, so you don't have to be afraid."

The boy shot her an incredulous look, and pointedly glared at Kanda.

The Head Nurse only shook her head. "I know it may appear otherwise, but you see, we also have to be cautious. Did you perhaps, attempt to attack this man the moment you woke up?" The Head Nurse laid a hand on Kanda's shoulder.

The boy blinked, frowning as he recalled his own actions, and then looked away guiltily.

The Head Nurse nodded in understanding.

"I understand why you did it. You were surprised, weren't you? It's only natural since you are now in a completely different environment as compared to before. And before you was a stranger wielding a sword. It's not just you, anyone would have immediately thought that they were in danger, therefore, they would lash out first to protect themselves.

"I do not blame you for your actions, but we do not want to hurt you, so if you were to promise us that you will not recklessly attack anymore, we will do the same."

The boy glanced at her, shifting over to the wide-eyed Lavi, and then onto Kanda. He gave Kanda an angry growl before he finally nodded at the Head Nurse in agreement. He clearly didn't trust any of them, but seemed to have decided that he would go along with them for now.

"Alright. Now, Kanda, remove your sword from the boy's neck." The Head Nurse ordered.

Kanda did as told, pulling away and moving to stand near the door.

"Boy, what is your name?" The Head Nurse asked.

With a frown and wary eyes, the boy replied, "Allen."

"Allen." The Head Nurse repeated. "I see. Do you only have one name?"

Allen tensed up a bit, pressing his lips together. The Head Nurse keenly observed his reactions, and then spoke her next sentences. "Alright, I understand. I won't press you to answer that."

Allen raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else.

"However, I have an important question that I would like for you to answer truthfully." The Head Nurse continued.

Allen's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion.

"Do you have a Master?" The Head Nurse asked.

Allen nearly snarled at her, but he managed to stop himself in time though a low growl could still be heard.

"I don't have one." He bit out.

The Head Nurse expression didn't change as she observed at Allen. "A modified slave cannot live on their own without an owner. No matter how much you may hate the fact that your life belongs to someone else, as long as you are registered to another, you cannot deny that you have a Master."

Allen's hands clenched into fists as he glared at the Head Nurse.

"Did you run away, Allen?"

Allen's lips drew back, exposing sharp canine teeth. His body was trembling, highly strung and ready to bolt at any moment. Emotions flashed across his face; suspicion, fear, confusion. The Head Nurse did not move, only steadily watching Allen.

After a few long moments where Allen had an internal struggle with himself, he finally gave the Head Nurse an answer.

"Yes."

And the Head Nurse smiled.

"Thank you for your honesty, Allen. I will repay that in kind."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know where you are?" The Head Nurse asked.

Allen's eyes flicked around, and finally settled back on the Head Nurse. He didn't answer.

"This room is small and lacked many things, I suppose you would probably think of this as some kind of confinement space." The Head Nurse said, and Allen gave a single nod in agreement. "But you are not exactly wrong. We do not know where you came from, so we isolated you for our safety."

"Where is this?" Allen asked.

"We are within the Black Order."

Allen's eyes widened. "What?"

"It seems you are quite clear on what the Black Order is, due to your reaction." The Head Nurse commented.

"…The Black Order… It really existed? But there's no evidence of it at all…"

The Head Nurse smiled.

"Of course. If we just remained out in the open where anyone can know of us, the Black Order would be attacked day and night until we are eventually destroyed."

Allen's head whipped to the side, staring at Lavi. Lavi smiled upon being noticed. "Yo, I'm Lavi." Lavi gestured over to where Kanda was with his thumb and said, "That man over there is Kanda. We are both members of the Black Order."

"And I am the one in charge of the infirmary. You may refer to me as Head Nurse."

Allen turned his head to look at the Head Nurse, his eyes still wide and disbelieving. The Head Nurse inspected him from head to toe, and then said, "I know this is sudden but now that you are awake, let's do another check on your body."

"Huh?"

"You are covered in wounds, though they are healing well. However, there are still things that can only be clearly detected when a person is awake. We can't leave unattended, hidden injuries as they are. Doing so will only harm your body in the long run."

"In the meantime," the Head Nurse glanced over at Lavi, "Would you go inform Komui and get him to come over?"

Lavi saluted the Head Nurse with a playful smile. "Understood!"

He turned around, stepping past Kanda. Kanda didn't bother to move, and Lavi had to twist sideways to avoid him. Lavi lightly ran over to where Komui's office was, his face devoid of any expression.

* * *

x

* * *

Allen stared at the floating screens above him, showing the current status of his body.

It's the first time he had ever seen himself so healthy.

Although the Head Nurse was apparently greatly shocked by his wounds and injuries, to Allen, this was his best condition ever. Of course, he never mentioned a word about what he thought, and only silently accepted the Head Nurse's fussing over him.

With a tilt of his head, Allen's eyes strayed away from the screens. He glanced around the room he was in, taking in all possible exits. It was a habit that he had grown too used to doing, that he couldn't stop himself even though he knew that this place wasn't dangerous.

At least, compared to _that place_ , the Black Order was practically harmless.

The room was Allen was in had been restored back to its original state, all the equipment placed back in their places and the deep cuts in the walls and floors were all gone too. The Head Nurse had strictly ordered him to sit in a corner, scolding him when he tried to help clean up the room – "the injured shouldn't be moving about recklessly!" So he simply watched as a bunch of machines came floating into the room to repair the walls and floor while Kanda and Lavi were made to move the equipment.

After that, the Head Nurse did a thorough check-up on Allen before they all left.

Then, about two hours ago, Allen met the head of the Black Order for the first time; Komui Lee. He was very different from what Allen expected for a head of an organization to be like, but Allen didn't dislike him.

He had come barging into the room, throwing large handfuls of flower petals in the air as a 'welcoming ceremony' for Allen. Allen wasn't surprised that Komui was already aware of his name, especially since Lavi had said that he did not tell Komui anything at all. Because having cameras all around to monitor both inside and outside of the rooms was something that Allen was very familiar with.

And he understood the reason why Komui isolated him in this room. It didn't matter to him. After all, who can just trust a stranger so easily? Allen had waved off Komui's guilty look, telling him that he didn't mind, that he understood. In fact, he had told Komui that he didn't mind it being his room for the duration of his stay here.

Komui had appeared hesitant, but he agreed to Allen's suggestion. Komui had then briefly explained about the Black Order to Allen, after which, he offered to show Allen around. But Allen had refused, using the excuse that he was tired and feeling weak from his injuries. Komui had a look of compassion on his face as he nodded his head in understanding. He left shortly after, telling Allen to get some rest.

Allen had indeed went back to the bed, taking a seat as he carefully scanned each corner of the room. He couldn't detect any hidden cameras, but he had a very strong feeling that they were there.

In the evening, someone knocked on his room door, and when he opened it, he found Lavi on the other side. Lavi had offered to bring him to the cafeteria for dinner, and to introduce the members of the Black Order to him.

With a shake of his head, Allen declined, once again using the same excuse that he had given Komui.

Lavi had blinked, momentarily surprised, but then accepted it with a smile. But he insisted that Allen had to eat, so he dashed off towards the cafeteria, and came back with a mountain of food for Allen.

To say Allen was stunned was an understatement, but he didn't show much of it, only gratefully accepting the food. Allen did not know how Lavi knew that Allen's food intake was abnormally high. Even with the information provided during the full body check-up, the large quantity of food that Allen needed in order to maintain his messed up body should not have been discovered.

Perhaps it was just a guess that since Allen had been asleep for so long, he would be starving once he woke up. As he ate, he began to think up of ways and excuses to avoid meeting anymore members of the Black Order.

The fact that he was found and brought to the Black Order was something he never thought would happen, because no one has ever located the headquarters of the organization before. Even Allen had thought that the Black Order was nothing more than a fairy tale.

But somehow, he had ended up within the extremely elusive Black Order.

And now that he was here, he absolutely had to avoid knowing the people here. Other than those he couldn't not meet, everyone else must be avoided at all costs! No one should befriend him, no one should show their weaknesses to him.

Allen must remain a stranger that they have to always be cautious around.

Isolate him, even placing him under constant surveillance is fine.

Because this way was better.

This way, he wouldn't get close to anyone here.

This way, he wouldn't form bonds with anyone.

So if anything were to happen, it couldn't be counted as a betrayal.


	14. Chapter 13

The fireplace crackled loudly in the dark room, accompanied by a rhythmic creaking of an old rocking chair. The figure of a child occupied the seat, swinging their legs back and forth as a light, happy humming filled the room.

From within the room, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. They steadily got louder and then stopped right outside the door. A moment later, the door swung open. In the doorway stood a tall man, dressed in a well-tailored suit. He smiled gently, his movements naturally elegant.

"I've been looking for you." He said. His smooth voice coupled with his actions gave one the impression of a perfect gentleman.

The humming stopped, and the child shifted in the rocking chair, turning around to face the door. The light from the fireplace danced across the child's features. Large dark eyes and a small face pared with oddly spiky hair; the child's features were an intriguing mix of childishness and femininity. She had on a dress that reached till her thighs, and colourful stockings covered her legs. A simple pair of black shoes completed her outfit.

"Why?" She asked.

"I received some news that would surely delight you." The man answered. He did not step any further into the room, leaning against the doorway.

"Oh?" The child smiled.

"Our boy is awake."

A confused blink, and then a large pair of golden eyes was suddenly staring out from the darkness, alight with excitement.

"Is he now? Great!" She giggled. The child jumped off the chair, dashing up to where the man was. As she ran, the air around her wavered, increasing in temperature. Little balls of fire snapped to life, encircling the child like a protective barrier.

The man was unfazed, allowing the child to hug him tightly. The fire that should have burned his clothes did not even seemed to have come in contact, mysteriously avoiding him. The man laid a hand of the child's head and said, "Yeah. Since he is awake now, we should have a meeting soon."

"Already? So that means we're starting?"

"Well, I'm not sure about what kind of things they're planning, but I doubt things will move that quickly. The best way to hurt someone is when their guard is down, after all."

The child laughed. "Indeed. But I'm so excited! I want to hurry and go play!"

The man softly laughed. "I know."

The child lifted her head, her golden eyes glinting dangerously.

"What is it?" The man asked, staring down at her with a similar pair of golden eyes.

"How long do you think we have to wait?" She asked.

"I don't know, because that's not up to us to decide."

The girl shifted her eyes away and pouted.

Seeing that, the man sighed softly and then suggested, "You can always go and _visit_ that boy." The girl stared at the man for a moment, eyes wide as she registered those words. She smiled brightly as she stepped away from him, twirling around as the flames danced around her. Her joyful laughter filled the room.

"That's right, I can do that!"

"Are you going to go now?" The man raised an eyebrow in question.

"Hm." The girl hummed, frowning as she tilted her head. After a while, she said, "I really, really want to but… It hasn't been long since the boy left our side."

With a huff, she dropped herself down onto the old rocking chair, causing it to tilt dangerously backwards. Any normal child would have been afraid of falling, but this girl did not even acknowledge it.

Swinging her legs, she happily announced her decision, "Alright then! I'll be patient and wait, just for a while more."

"Is that so?" The man smiled mysteriously as he watched the child. He said nothing more as he turned around, softly closing the door as he left.

The little flames around the girl vanished, but the dying fire in the fireplace roared to life. The bright amber flames chased away the darkness where the girl was seated, clearly showing how the girl's pale skin was slowly beginning to turn dark.

She rested her cheek against her palm, a chilling smile on her face as she murmured to herself, "Yes, just for a little while more."

* * *

Allen rose from the bed, silently moving towards the door.

He reached out a hand, slowly and carefully turning the door knob. It opened soundlessly, and Allen stepped out. He raised his head, checking left and right. The corridor was empty. The little lamps along the walls were lit, brightening up the area.

Allen blinked his eyes. From a distance, he appeared very normal. However, upon a closer look, it could clearly be seen that his eyes were clouded and unseeing. Even so, his movements were smooth and quiet, not a single unnecessary action.

It was too eerie, as though his body was under the control of someone else.

Allen left the room, taking a right and then walking straight till he came across a set of stairs. He paused, tilting his head to the side. After some consideration, he descended the stairs. Each step he took left no sound, even though he had on shoes that were slightly heeled.

He went down a few flights of stairs, where it got darker and darker until he couldn't see even his hands as he held them out in front of him. Allen placed a hand on the wall, lightly trailing his fingers over the cobblestone as he continued down.

Eventually, the stairs ended.

And the sound of trickling water met his ears.

He followed the sound, completely blinded due to the darkness, but at ease. The closer he came towards the sound of water, the air steadily changed. It became damp, and he could almost taste the saltiness on his tongue.

Salty water? It was very much like the waters of the ocean.

Allen's eyes widened in curiosity, even as it remained blank and unaware. His steps sped up.

From a distance, there was something that was faintly shining. Immediately, he lightly ran towards that glow. Each step he took was calculated and careful, and with uncanny precision, he avoided all the traps that laid hidden in the ground with ease.

He stopped at an archway, where the entire area from behind the archway onwards was lit up like there was a miniature sun. His eyes narrowed against the light, but soon enough, he adapted to it. He looked around at what he could see from his current position, and realised that there was nothing there. Whatever it was that was shining brightly, was probably located much further in.

With a little smile, Allen proceed past the archway.

The moment he entered, he was awash with light. Instinctively lifting a hand to block out the light from his eyes, he turned his head to the left.

There was another tunnel near the far end, and Allen did not hesitate.

He came to an abrupt stop at the tunnels' entrance, his eyes widening in surprise as his mouth fell open.

Within this cave-like structure, right at the furthest end of the tunnel, in the middle of a raised platform sat a gigantic pure white crystal stone. It was so tall that the tips were lightly scratching the ceiling, causing little deep lines of indentations. But what truly stood out was the fact that the stone was glowing on its own.

Focusing closely on the atmosphere around the stone, Allen could actually see the air moving, something like a mist-like smoke was emitting from it.

Did the crystal stone produce some kind of energy?

Step by step, Allen slowly approached.

He finally stopped once he was directly in front of it. He had a confused frown on his face, eyebrows knitting together as he sunk into his thoughts.

Clearly, the stone was indeed producing some kind of energy. But it was energy that Allen had never felt before. It wasn't artificial, but it wasn't completely natural either.

Though he wanted to, Allen was rather cautious about touching it. Who knows what would have happened if he did? Deciding not the take the risk, Allen kept his hands by his side and just stared at the massive crystal.

All of a sudden, his lips parted and then a wide grin rose on his face.

In a voice that was neutral and completely genderless, Allen spoke, "The Black Order, hm? My, my, I wonder just what it is that you are hiding."

With a little laugh, Allen turn around.

His eyes were shining. However, they were not their usual silver, but a stunning gold speckled with silver stars.

Such an interesting discovery he had made.

But even though the Black Order was awfully lax with their security in regards to strangers, it was not good to rouse their suspicions unnecessarily, since it would make walking around much more difficult.

Allen has spent a little too much time away from his room.

So it was time to leave.

Allen made his way back up the stairs, down the corridor, and back into his room. He crawled into his bed, pulling the covers up to his chin as he curled up on his side. He slid his hand under his pillow, reaching for the little screen he had hidden there. Making sure that the screen stayed under the pillow, he expertly tapped the buttons, stopping the looping of the cameras inside the room and allowing it to resume recording in real time.

Pulling his hand back, it conveniently covered his little smile.

With a gentle exhale, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Lavi."

"Oh? Lenalee? What is it?"

"That cart that you're pushing that's filled with food… Is it for the new guy that just entered the Black Order?"

"Yeah."

"It's been a week since he came, but he's been actively avoiding everyone! Shouldn't he make the effort to get down to the cafeteria and get to know everyone as a new member?"

"Hm… But from what I've heard, that guy apparently does not want to join the Black Order."

"Eh?! Oh… That's quite a surprise. Usually, we get people begging us to let them in. But, well, I suppose he has his own reasons. By the way, Lavi, it's been bothering me but… Isn't that mountain of food a little too much just for one person?"

"Oh? You haven't heard, Lenalee? That guy has one hell of a crazy appetite!"

"Oh my? How interesting! Say, do you think I can go with you to get a peek at the new guy?"

"Didn't Komui forbid you from visiting him though?"

"Brother is just overprotective! He's already been placed in an isolated room, and it's not just any normal room. It's specially created and modified to release a unique gas at regular intervals that supresses a person's strength! Only those that are registered with the Black Order are spared the effects of it. And if, supposedly, something were to happen, I'm absolutely confident in my speed. I'll be completely safe!"

"Well…"

"Come on, please?"

"But if your brother finds out…"

"No problem! I'll handle him!"

"…Still…"

"Please, Lavi?"

"…Fine."

"Hooray! Thanks Lavi!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

I have some bad news for everyone reading this story. I've decided to scrap this. My interest in this story has died out, so I won't be continuing this. There's still about a chapter (or two) left, and that's all that I have managed to write before hitting a dead end. After posting the last chapter, I will wait for a few weeks before deleting this.

Thank you for all your warm support up till now.

Perhaps someday I will come back to you guys with a more interesting, more engaging storyline. As for now, it's a goodbye.


	15. End

Kanda leaned against the cold metal railings along the corridors, crossing his arms as he glared at the room before him. He didn't enter, didn't even want to see the white-haired brat that somehow, seriously, _seriously,_ annoyed him.

Every time he recalled the brat's appearance, he would unconsciously start grinding his teeth together. That brat, he was so scrawny and so small. And so white.

Like… Like a beansprout.

A beansprout… A moyashi.

A mere moyashi that appeared so weak and vulnerable, but yet, Kanda could sense something off about him. Something that did not fit his appearance at all. It made Kanda extremely alert and wary.

It was an aura of danger.

From the way he moved, to the way he had handled that broken metal bed frame in their brief fight, those actions did not belong to someone who was merely acting on self-defence. Rather, his skills and calm judgement showed Kanda very clearly that the boy had received some kind of _training._

By that, he did not mean the normal kind of martial arts training.

The training he was talking about was training in assassinations.

Kanda himself had personally experienced it before, back when he was still a child locked up in the basement within the Underworld. That was why, the moment they had exchanged blows, Kanda knew. However, the fact that Kanda had undergone such training was a secret even to Komui. No one else knew except for Kanda himself.

Upon realising that the white-haired boy was in fact not as simple as he claimed to be, Kanda had really, really wanted to kill him.

And he knew that if he had actually done so, even Komui could not say anything about it for it was Kanda's responsibility as one of the strongest within the Black Order. Kanda has to protect the very existence of the Black Order.

And assassins were the most dangerous threat any organisation could face.

They had to be annihilated at all costs.

But though Kanda knew that, he had stopped himself from killing the boy back then.

And the reason was simple.

The boy was their only clue.

From the boy's horrendously messed up body, to the microchip that even the scientists of the Black Order couldn't decode, and finally, to the boy's fighting skills, there was surely someone big, someone influential, behind the boy.

If they kept the boy alive, surely his master would make contact with him soon.

However, those were only Kanda's thoughts, and he had not mentioned them to anyone, not even Komui. From what Kanda had seen, Komui didn't seem to want the boy to leave yet, not when they have not managed to decipher the microchip. So if he had said anything, Komui would have probably drugged the boy with a strong sleeping pill that would put elephants to sleep immediately, and then modify the boy's memories of the Black Order before throwing him out.

But doing that would mean losing their only lead on what may be a large organisation that either wanted to eradicate the Black Order, or could turn out to be an ally.

As it is, the boy that was completely avoiding the members of the Black Order, shutting himself in his room, was actually being rather helpful. This way, Kanda had one less thing to worry about.

But even so, if he was left alone for too long, there was a chance that something might go wrong.

Perhaps he should suggest to Komui to get people to guard the boy. Kanda didn't mind being the guard, but in order to deter the boy, it would be best to have him think that he was heavily guarded. Because just depending on the cameras within the room aren't enough!

As he was pondering, the sound of something being wheeled over suddenly drew his attention. Kanda looked up, and saw Lavi and Lenalee in the distance. Upon noticing Kanda, Lavi grinned and made a full dash towards him.

Kanda stared silently as he approached.

…The boy aside, there was another dangerous one here.

Lavi may be the Bookman's apprentice, but he too, gave off a sense of danger. It wasn't at the level of the boy's, but it was enough that Kanda knew that Lavi couldn't be trusted. While he may trust the Bookman – to an extent – the apprentice was an entirely different matter.

Picking up apprentices was fine, but with how strangely tight-lipped the Bookman was when it came to Lavi's past, it was enough to rouse suspicions in Kanda.

Looks like recently, the Black Order has been accepting rather suspicious characters into its arms.

"Yuu!"

Before Lavi could even attempt a blink, Kanda swiftly pulled out his katana, and slashed at him.

Lavi's reaction speed wasn't bad at all, he actually avoided the blow.

Mostly, that is.

Strands of red hair slowly floated down to the floor.

"What did you just say?" Kanda growled.

Lavi ducked behind the trolley he had been pushing, wide-eyed and trembling, and he peeked out from behind, speaking in voice a thick with fear, he whispered, "…Your name?"

Kanda lifted his sword, pointing it right between Lavi's eyes. "Who told you?"

Beads of cold sweat formed on Lavi's forehead as he explained, "Erm. Komui did. We were chatting the other day and he went on and on about how Tiedoll likes to call you by your name… It's Yuu, isn't it?"

Kanda tilted his sword and made to slice the left side of Lavi's face, but just as before, Lavi was agile enough to avoided the deadly hit, but not completely. This time, Kanda took off a rather large bunch of hair from the top of Lavi's head.

As expected of a fox, his speed wasn't bad at all.

Kanda narrowed his eyes, this time, he set his aim for Lavi's leg, wanting to stab a hole through it.

But before he could move, he was frozen in place by a sharp, feminine voice.

"Kanda!" Lenalee reprimanded, her hands on her hips.

Kanda turned his head, coming face-to-face with her fierce, reproachful glare. After a moment, he shifted his eyes away, staring back down at Lavi. With a low grunt, he straightened up and then growled at the cowering Lavi, "Don't ever call my name again."

Surprisingly, Lavi did not nod his head obediently, instead, he gave Kanda a sly grin.

Kanda glared at him, but said nothing else as he shielded his sword and turned his gaze towards the trolley.

He gestured towards it with a little lift of his head.

Lenalee answered his silent question. "It's for the new boy. Apparently, he has a really huge appetite!"

Kanda stared at the food, and then at Lenalee.

He frowned.

Immediately, Lenalee picked up on what he wanted to say.

"It's fine! I know brother doesn't allow me to visit the boy but I can assure you, I'll be completely fine and nothing will happen!"

Lenalee smiled her best smile at Kanda, hoping to persuade him.

Really, of all people, it just had to be Kanda that she encountered when she was so close to meeting the new boy. Kanda was much, much worse than her brother. Though he usually lets her do as she pleases, but when he disagrees against doing something, even Lenalee was no match for him.

Kanda remained silent, pinning down Lenalee with a fierce gaze of refusal. Bit by bit, Lenalee's smile dimmed. Eventually, she was pouting down at the ground.

Lavi had been watching their entire exchange in surprise, his single green eye shining with unconcealed interest. When Kanda turned to look at him, he reflexively hid his expression and blinked innocently at Kanda.

Kanda only softly snorted, and nodded his head towards Lenalee. "Take her back."

"But…"

"Hurry up!"

Lavi jolted, and had no choice but to walk towards the sulking Lenalee.

"Then… We'll head back to the cafeteria. About that boy's food…"

"I'll handle it." Kanda said.

Lavi nodded and left with the clearly reluctant Lenalee. But after taking a few steps, Lenalee suddenly whipped around and stuck her tongue out at Kanda. "Bleh!"

Kanda raised an unimpressed eyebrow, but Lenalee had already turned back and with a flip of her hair, she stomped away on her heels. Lavi had to run to catch up to her.

Kanda breathed out a sigh.

His eyes flicked between the trolley and the door.

Well then.

Time to feed that beansprout of a boy.

* * *

Allen was sitting on the ground, stretching out his stiff muscles.

Though his face was expressionless, his mind was a mess.

One week.

He has stayed within the Black Order for a week now. So far, he has successfully managed to avoid most of the members, but using his weak body as an excuse wouldn't work for much longer. Most of his injuries has already healed up completely, thanks to the Black Order's highly advanced medicine.

If he didn't figure out something soon, there was a chance that his act might end up being discovered.

When he first came to and met the Head Nurse along with the two members of the Black Order, he had immediately put up an act in front of them. When the Head Nurse had asked her questions about him, he had made sure to react in a similar way as a slave that has ran away from their hated master would.

After all, he hadn't known where he was, so acting as such was the safest choice. It was the easiest way to dispel suspicions about him, and it would make others drop their guard. That way, if it was needed, Allen would be able to easily escape from a dangerous situation since they had already assumed that he wasn't much of a threat.

But it was really beyond his imagination to think that he would actually end up in the Black Order.

Allen has 'ran away' from his masters many times, but it wasn't because he really wanted to. His masters had instructed him to do so, and as a slave raised within _that place,_ disobeying is impossible.

Allen's owners would always, always give him instructions before he was told to 'escape' from that place. They would have their orders recorded within Allen's microchip, leaving him with no way to disobey them.

Usually, he would be send out to collect information. But sometimes, he would be told to go on assassination missions.

And as for this time…

Allen frowned.

His ears suddenly swerved towards the door and he picked up the sound of muffled voices coming from right outside his room. Immediately, he stood up and sat cautiously on the edge of his bed.

He couldn't hear the voices clearly, so he didn't know who they belonged to.

Allen could only remained on alert and silently wait.

It wasn't long before the door opened, and a very familiar man walked in. He had one hand casually resting on his sword's hilt, and the other was behind him, pulling along a cart filled with food.

Allen's eyes narrowed with displeasure the moment he registered who it was that had entered the room.

Kanda.

There was something about this man that made Allen extremely wary. He had already known that Kanda was strong, as shown during their brief fight a week before. But he had a feeling that Kanda was actually hiding his true strength.

Allen wasn't sure if he would be able to win against Kanda when the time comes.

Their eyes met, and the tension in the room suddenly spiked.

Then, Kanda smirked, opening his mouth to speak.

"Time to eat, _Moyashi_."

And Allen's eyebrow twitched.

* * *

Allen glared at the smirking Kanda, though he chose not to say anything.

Kanda pulled the trolley of food further into the room, leaving it there as he went to close the room door. Allen watched his every movement, body on alert.

The door softly closed with a click.

Kanda turned around, and saw that Allen had not moved at all. He gestured to the food, and said, "Not eating?"

Allen stared at the trolley that held all types of food; from western cuisine to Asian food, from meat to sweet desserts.

His stomach rumbled.

Even so, Allen still did not make a move for the food.

Seeing this, Kanda shifted, leaning against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Kanda asked. "Are you worried that the food might have been poisoned?"

Allen glanced at Kanda. "I wouldn't put it past you to do that."

Kanda snorted. "How long has it been? One week? You have eaten the Black Order's food for an entire week, and only now are you being cautious?"

"Seems like you have some hearing problems. You had better go get it checked. I said that 'I wouldn't put it past _you_ to do that', I've never mentioned anything about the Black Order's chefs, have I?" Allen retorted. "You were the one to bring the food, who knows if you had tempered with it beforehand?"

Kanda stared down at Allen, at his firm gaze. Not bad. Letting the insult slide, Kanda opened his mouth again.

"Heh. Too bad for you then, Moyashi. I'm not one to do such troublesome things. If I want you killed, I would do it openly. There's no need for such boring methods like poisoning someone."

Allen's gaze wavered a bit, and he frowned at Kanda.

"Looks like you are rather stubborn. Alright then, how about we play a little game?" Kanda suggested.

"A game?"

"Have a fight with me. You're already all healed up, aren't you? If you win, I will have the Black Order's chef personally come to the room and cook in front of you. But if I win, then you will have to eat the food from the trolley."

Allen stared suspiciously at Kanda.

"If what you said earlier was true, and the food is not poisoned at all, why would you even make such an unfavourable game outcome for yourself? You will not gain anything from it."

Kanda smirked, pushing away from the wall, he approached Allen. Allen immediately tensed up, but Kanda took no notice and only stopped when he was directly in front of Allen. He leaned down a little, and said, "Because we don't ill-treat our _guests_. It's mealtime, therefore, we won't let you starve."

Allen glared up at Kanda, annoyance building up within him at Kanda's mocking tone.

"Hmph. Fine then, I'll play along. What kind of fight do you want?"

Kanda straightened up, and glanced around the room.

"As expected, there's not a single thing that can be used as a weapon here. Then, I'll be fair. I won't use my sword either. How about a hand-to-hand combat?"

Allen nodded and stood up from the bed.

There wasn't much space in the room, so they moved all the machinery and the bed to a corner, clearing up as much space as possible.

Kanda removed his sword and placed it near the food trolley.

Allen and Kanda stood before each other, in similar stances.

Neither moved for long minutes, so Kanda decided to start the fight first.

"I'll go first."

That was all the warning Allen got before Kanda flew at him.

Allen dodged, but Kanda never missed a beat, using one foot as a pivot, he turned his body around to follow Allen's movements. Allen was stuck as the defensive, while Kanda came at him like a relentless beast.

Kanda kicked his leg out, wanting to trip Allen. But Allen jumped, using Kanda's body as a support, he somersaulted in the air, landing behind Kanda. He didn't pause there, immediately turning around to land a kick at Kanda's head.

Just before the hit came into contact, Kanda had reached up a hand and caught Allen's foot. He spun around and tossed Allen into the opposite direction, though Allen managed to land safely on his feet after performing another somersault.

Kanda hummed.

"Quite an acrobat, aren't you?"

Allen only shrugged, and dashed towards Kanda.

Their fight went on for a full forty minutes when suddenly, there came the crackling of static. Then, Komui's shrill voice burst out from somewhere within the room.

"Kanda! What are you doing?! Stop fighting this instant!"

Both Allen and Kanda came to an abrupt halt.

Their breathing was heavier than usual, but neither appeared to be exhausted.

"Kanda! Report to me right away!" Komui ordered.

Kanda snorted.

He glanced at Allen, then nodded towards the food trolley. "Since our fight was interrupted and there was no winner, as a guest of the Black Order, I'll let you decide on whether you will take the food over there or have some new ones made in front of your eyes."

Allen turned to face the trolley, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I'll eat."

They moved back the bed and machines to their original spots, and after securing the sword back on, Kanda left the room without a single word.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, Kanda?! Why were you fighting against Allen?!"

Kanda leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he watched Komui rage on in front of him.

"Kanda, you… Don't just stare at me! Answer me, damn it!"

Kanda sighed, as though Komui had just asked the most annoying and troublesome favour from him. With how red Komui's face currently was, Kanda wouldn't be surprised if a blood vessel popped or something.

So, he decided he should probably give Komui an answer of sorts before that actually happened.

"I was just testing out the boy." Kanda said.

"Testing out? _Testing out?!_ Why were you even – "

"You, how long did it take you to realise that we were fighting in that room?" Kanda cut off Komui with a question.

Komui froze, and then with a frown he began thinking back. "That's… Once I saw what was happening, I immediately activated the speakers to stop you boys…"

Kanda huffed.

"Look like you don't know. I'll tell you then. I've been keeping time from the moment I stepped inside the room. Only after forty minutes did you intervene between us."

"F-f-forty minutes?"

Kanda nodded.

Komui sat down into his chair, disbelief clear on his face.

"…This is our mistake. Both the surveillance team and mine. We weren't careful enough about keeping watch on the boy's room. To think that we have been this negligent…" Komui murmured to himself.

Kanda's eyebrows narrowed.

"That's not the point." Kanda snapped, startling Komui.

"Forty minutes, Komui. _Forty._ That boy fought against _me_ for forty minutes. And the result? He wasn't even anywhere near being exhausted."

At that, Komui's eyes widened, springing up from his chair.

After a beat, he began shaking his head from side to side, as though trying to reject what he just heard, but a soft sound from Kanda had his head snapping up. He stared at Kanda, who quietly stared back, then as though all fight had left his body, he fell back into his chair, head bowed, one hand rubbing his forehead.

After a long moment, he murmured, "To think the boy could actually fight against you for forty minutes. Within the unique conditions of that room, even if you were going easy on him, that stamina of his is not normal. …Have I really made a mistake, as Bookman had stated?"

Komui fell silent, fists clenched.

Kanda studied him, and patiently waited for the words that he knew would come.

"Should we have him leave the Black Order?" Komui mumbled. "But… That microchip of his…"

Komui lifted his head, though his eyes were looking at Kanda, his gaze appeared to be distant. "Unless, should we just remove the microchip from within him? That way, we would probably eliminate some danger… Ah, but, the microchip cannot be fully read even with all our highly advanced equipment. What if it explodes upon removal? That's too great of a risk…"

Komui's gaze suddenly focused on Kanda.

"Kanda –" Komui started, but never got to finish.

Because he realised that Kanda was smirking at him, with knowing eyes.

Looks like Kanda had already knew what conclusion he would reach.

Komui sighed. The corners of his lips raised into a mirthless smile, and he bowed his head to Kanda.

"I'll leave it to you." He said.

Kanda stood up from the couch.

Glancing at the image of Head of the Black Order bowing down before him, he simply turned away and left the office with a single sentence.

"It's my job."

* * *

x

* * *

Three days after his fight with Kanda, Allen realised that Kanda was now guarding him.

He didn't even need to open the door of his room to know that Kanda was outside keeping guard. Because from that day on, Kanda was the one to bring him his meals. It was a change that Allen immediately noticed, and knew at once what it meant.

There would be the sound of the trolley coming from outside his door, then there would be voices of someone talking before Kanda walked in. One time, Allen caught a glimpse a tall man's back, all dressed in white, with a typical chef's hat.

Sometimes, Kanda would eat with him. Very rarely though.

However, ever since the fight, all verbal communication between them had ceased. Instead, it was replaced by smirks and glares. Even without talking, the both of them continue to irritate and taunt each other.

During his meals, Allen would sometimes glanced over at where Kanda was standing as he watched him eat. Then, he would abruptly fling some food at Kanda. The first time he flung a chicken wing at Kanda, even before it reached him, it had been sliced in half and thrown back onto the plate.

The second time he tried, it resulted in a cleanly sliced plate.

And the third time, it was Allen's shirt that was split into half.

To be honest, Allen was highly amused.

Annoying Kanda was strangely fun.

But seeing as how Allen's shirt had been destroyed, he wondered if the next time would result in Allen himself being the one cut into half.

So he stopped.

For now.

* * *

Allen lightly dozed on the bed, all his senses still alert even as his eyes were closed.

The room was dark, the windows shut tightly and heavy curtains were covering them, repelling all light.

When a cold, unnatural breeze blew over him, Allen's single wing unconsciously snapped open as he shot up from the bed. He whipped his head left and right, but there was nothing there. His body began to shiver, cold sweat forming on his skin.

Could it be…?

After several minutes, nothing happened still. Allen's heartbeat slowly settled down, but he didn't drop his guard. He carefully stood up from the bed, and turned towards the window. Before he turned in for the night, he had make sure to close the windows. There shouldn't be any cold night wind coming in. But when he felt earlier was not a hallucination.

His silver eyes narrowed as he walked over to the window.

Raising his hand, he gripped the curtain, and then flung it back.

The sight of an opened window met his gaze.

Allen gritted his teeth, and his hands clenched into fists. Taking in deep breaths, he reached out to close the window. He made sure to secure it tightly.

Then, he returned to the bed.

He did not lie back down, but simply sat crossed-legged on the bed.

He remained alert for a long time, then, bit by bit, doubt began to grow within him.

The Black Order's headquarters was designed in a rather old fashioned way, if perhaps, the wind was too strong, the old window might have been unable to take the strained and had opened up slightly. After all, Allen had been surprised when he had seen the window for the first time, for it was not a completely sleek automated window, but an old type usually found in ancient castles of the past.

With a frown, Allen finally crawled under the bed covers.

He arranged his wing carefully, and then laid down on his back.

He closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out, and his tensed muscles started to relax. With his body now limp, he fell into a deep sleep.

He did not dream, there was only pure darkness.

And within the darkness, a voice suddenly called out to him.

"Allen…"

Who was that?

"Allen…"

What a familiar voice, but he couldn't quite remember it.

The darkness in his dream began to fade, a single spot in the distance was shining brightly. Allen focused on it, and the bright spot grew rapidly. From a mere spot, it started to extend in five directions. They formed a pair of legs, a pair of arms, and then, a head.

And soon enough, the light took on the appearance of a girl. A young girl with pale skin and dark eyes. She had on a dress which ended with little ruffles, and a red ribbon loosely tied around her neck. Thigh-high striped socks and black shoes completed her outfit.

The girl smiled at him, gentle eyes watching him.

Ah.

Yes, Allen knew who this was.

She must have been the one calling him.

As if to prove his thoughts true, the girl opened her mouth and called for him once more, "Allen."

And Allen replied.

"Yes, Road."

The girl giggled.

She lifted her softly glowing hand, resting it on Allen's face.

It was warm.

Allen stared at her, and then asked, "How are you here?"

Road blinked, saying innocently, "I came to visit you."

"I know." Allen sighed. "Don't pretend you didn't hear my question. I asked 'how', not the reason for why you are here."

Road continued to stare at Allen innocently, until she couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Her laugh was high and sweet, exactly like the lovable laughter of a young child. She moved the hand that was still on Allen's face, resting two fingers on Allen's forehead instead.

"Did I not tell you before?" She asked, though she clearly wasn't expecting an answer. She continued, "I had place a little microchip in here." At this, she gently tapped Allen's forehead. "Using this, I can appear in your dreams, wherever you are. And also, though it looks like a normal microchip, it can't be detected by any machinery."

"I see." Allen simply said. He did not show any signs of being shocked or horrified that there was a microchip in his brain. Usually, the microchips in slaves would be placed somewhere on their body, then it would be connected to the brain. No one has ever attempted to forcefully place a chip into the human brain before.

But, something like this is only to be expected when it came to Road. Because there was no one alive who could ever attempt to do even half of what Road was capable of.

"Allen. Allen."

Allen focused his gaze back on Road, and found that her dark eyes have turned golden.

She smiled once she saw that she had Allen's full attention now.

"Allen, don't forget what you have to do."

"Yes, I won't forget."

Road nodded her head in satisfaction.

She said nothing more, and neither did Allen. Instead, she softly stroked Allen's cheek until she faded away.

Allen's eyes lethargically opened, and then he realised he was in a brightened room. With a slow blink, he turned his head to the side, and saw that it was already eight in the morning.

His cheek still retained a faint sensation of warmth.

Allen closed his eyes again. He was really feeling extremely tired. Looks like when Road came to visit him through a dream, it left a side effect. All his physical and mental energy had been used up, and he was completely exhausted.

He fell asleep once more, and this time, no one came to intrude upon his sleep.

* * *

 **End**

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* * *

 **A/N:**

And that's it. That's all I've got before I crashed into a wall with this story and died.

In consideration of my readers who aren't active on ff. net, I'll be leaving this up for quite a while.

I'm open to prompts, PM me your prompts (don't leave them in the comments, please), but there's no guarantee that I'll write them.

Reading through all the comments/reviews I got for this story leaves me in awe of all the warm support I'd received. Once again, I'm really, really thankful to you readers.

Thank you.

Let's meet again, with another story, somewhere in the future.

\- EndlessLunacy.


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